Slje  ^.  ^.  JItU  pbrmrg 


NN5 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


S00561081    L 


/^  ^  I4.y 


/ 


7^     j^ 


A.t.. 


l6  "^/^ 


*^^■ 


/¥  /' 


This  BOOK  may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS 
ONLY,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  FIVE 
CENTS  a  day  thereafter.  It  is  due  on  the 
day  indicated  below:  /I  Q 


APR  3  0 

MAR     1 
MAY  1'^ 


1984 

1991 

'992 


THE 


AMERICAN    FARMER'S 

INSTRUCTOR, 


PRACTICAL  AGRICULTURIST; 

COMPREHENDING 

THE  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS, 

THE  HUSBANDRY  OF  THE  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS, 

AND  THE  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM; 

TOGETHER  WITH 

A  VARIETY  OF  INFORMATION  WHICH  WILL  BE  FOUND 
IMPORTANT  TO  THE  FARMER. 

BY  FRANCIS   S.   WIGGINS, 

LATE  EDITOR  OF  THE  FARMERS'  CABINET,  MECHANICS'  REGISTER,  SC.  &C. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
ORRIN  ROGERS,  67  SOUTH  SECOND  STREET. 

E.  G.  Dorsey,  Printer. 

1840. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by  Orrin 
Rogers,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


Errata;— Page  52,  last  line,  for  "not  usually"  read  "naturally^''  in  part  of 
the  edition. 
Pages  199  and  200,  for  "desiccation"  read  *^ defecation:' 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  work  is  offered  to  the  public  with  entire  confidence  in 
its  merit,  and  in  the  importance  of  such  a  pubh'cation  to  the 
American  farmer.  The  necessity  which  calls  for  it  is  manifest 
from  the  avidity  with  which  information  is  sought  on  the 
subject  from  various  sources,  and  Avhich  has  originated  agri- 
cultural societies,  periodical  publications,  &c.,  all  of  which 
answer  a  very  excellent  purpose  in  stirring  up  the  spirit  of 
improvement. 

But  all  these  sources,  while  they  have  furnished  means  for, 
have  not  answered  the  design  of  this  work.  This  is  intended 
to  be  a  standard — a  complete  text-book;  embracing,  in  as  con- 
densed a  form  as  possible,  all  that  is  most  valuable  in  relation 
to  the  science  of  agriculture.  It  is  designed  to  be  a  practical 
instructor,  whereby  the  farmer  may  make  himself  acquainted 
with  the  principles  and  operations  of  his  business. 

Its  advantages  will  be  apparent,  from  the  consideration  that 
it  will  teach  the  nature  of  soils, — 2^''^operties  of  manures  for 
enriching  them, — their  adaptation  to  the  various  grains, 
grasses,  plants,  &c. — the  influences  of  successive  crops, — best 
method  of  cultivation;  and  the  rearing  and  feeding  of  all  kinds 
of  animals,  as  the  horse,  ass,  mule,  ox,  cow,  sheep,  hog,  &c. 
And  by  a  copious  index  appended,  reference  may  be  had,  as 
occasion  requires,  to  any  particular  subject  on  which  informa- 
tion is  wanted.  This  will  save  the  labour  of  turning  over 
volumes  of  periodical  publications. 

The  author  was  well  qualified  for  the  task  of  furnishing  such 
a  work  to  the  community.  He  was,  until  the  time  of  his 
decease,  well  known  as  the  Editor  of  the  Farmers'  Cabinet, 


jV  INTRODUCTION. 

Mechanics'  Register,  &c.  &c.  He  closely  applied  himself  for 
a  long  time  to  the  preparation  of  this  work,  carefully  investi- 
gating facts  in  order  to  ascertain  principles,  and  with  the  sin- 
cere desire  of  promoting  the  agricultural  interests.  This  alone 
would  entitle  his  productions  to  the  patronage  of  the  farmer. 

But  he  had  only  just  completed  his  arduous  labours,  when 
ill  the  providence  of  God  he  was  removed  from  earth  to  the 
land  where  the  weary  are  at  rest.  He  has  left  behind  an 
amiable  wife  and  several  children,  who  have  an  interest  in  the 
profits  of  this  publication.  This  is  an  additional  reason  why 
the  American  farmer  should  make  this  book  his  own,  that  he 
may  contribute  his  share  towards  the  support  and  comfort  of 
the  family  of  the  Farmer's  friend,  who  devoted  his  time 
and  talents  for  their  good. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  SOILS. 


1.  Remarks  on  the  Different  Classes  and  Character  of  the  Soils,  Page  13 

2.  Means  of  Increasing  the  Productive  Power  of  Soils,         -  -  23 

II.  MANURES.  26 

1.  Animal  and  Vegetable  Manures,     -----  26 

•2.  Mineral  Manures,    -------  42 

3.  Marl, 50 

4.  Mixed  Manures,       -------  60 

III.  SIMPLE  OPERATIONS  OF  TILLAGE.  62 

1.  Ploughing, 62 

2.  Harrowing,   --------  66 

3.  Rolling,  -.-.--.-  67 

4.  Digging,        --------  68 

IV.  PREPARATION  OF  LAND  FOR  TILLAGE.  69 

I.  Fallowing.     --------  69 

•2.  Levelling  Ground  and  Removing  Obstructions  to  Tillage,  -  71 

3.  Paring  and  Burning,  ...---  71 

V.  ON  THE  ROTATION  OF  CROPS.  73 

VI.  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  80 

I.  Plants  Cultivated  for  their  Seeds,    -----  80 

I.  Cereal  Grasses,  ------  80 

1.  Wheat, 82 

2.  Rve, 98 

3.  Barley, 101 

4.  Oats, 104 

5.  Millet, 106 

6.  Maize,  or  Indian  Corn — Zea  Mais,  .  .  .  107 

7.  Rice,  -------  117 

8.  The  Canary  Grass,  «&c. 118 

9.  Broom  Corn — Sugar  Sorgum,       -  -  -  -  119 

II.  Leguminous  Plants,     ------  123 

l.^The  Bean, 123 

2.  The  Pea, 125 

3.  Buckwheat,  ------  123 

VII.  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  ROOTS,  TUBERS 

AND  LEAVES.  131 

1.  The  Potato, 131 

■2.  The  Sweet  Potato,  -------  140 

3.  The  Turnip.  -------  141 

4.  The  Onion,"  -------  146 

5.  The  Carrot, 148 

0.  The  Parsnep,  -------  150 

7.  The  Cabbage, 151 


viii  CONTENTS. 

8.  Rape.  ..--_..  Page  152 

9.  The  Beet, 153 

10.  The  Jerusalem  Artichoke,             .....  158 

VIII.  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  FIBRES  FOR  THREAD, 

OR  CHIEFLY  FOR  THE  CLOTHING  ARTS.  160 

1.  Flax, 160 

2.  Hemp, -  168 

3.  Cotton,           .---....  176 

IX.  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  OILS.  180 
Rape.     -----....  180 

The  Small  or  Field  Poppy, 181 

The  Sun-Flou-er, 181 

X.  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  DYES.  183 

1.  Madder, -  183 

2.  Woad,            ........  185 

3.  Weld  or  Dyers  Weed, 186 

4.  Indigo, 187 

5.  Bastard  Saffron,        .......  188 

XI.  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  SUGAR.  189 

1.  The  Sugar  Cane, 189 

2.  The  Sugar  Maple,    .......  190 

3.  The  Sugar  Beet, 197 

XII.  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  NARCOTIC,  BITTER 

AND  TANNIN  PRINCIPLE.  202 

1.  Tobacco,       ------_.  202 

2.  The  Hop,     --------  205 

XIII.  CULTURE  OF  PLANTS  USED  FOR  FORAGE  OR 

HERBAGE.  214 

i.  Clover,           -------.  214 

2.  Lucern, 2ig 

3.  Saintloin,  or  Sainfoin,          ----._  221 

GRASSES.  225 

1.  Sweet  Scented  Vernal  Grass,        -           -           -            _           .  226 

2.  Meadow  Foxtail,    ---.-..  226 

3.  Orchard  Grass  or  Rough  Cock's-foot,       -           -           -           -  227 

4.  Timothv,     ------._  033 

5.  Tall  (Meadow)  Oat  Grass,             -----  229 

6.  Yellow  Oat  Grass,              ------  230 

7.  Rye  Grass,               ---.--.  230 

8.  Italian  Rye  Grass,               ---...  231 

9.  Florin  or"Bent  Grass,          --..._  032 

10.  Smooth  Stalked  Meadow  Grass,    .....  033 

11.  Rough  Stalked  Meadow  Grass,      -           -           .           .           .  Z'ii 

12.  Fertile  Meadow  Grass, 234 

13.  Annual  Meadow  Grass,      ....  901 

14.  Reed  Meadow  Grass, -  «35 

15.  Floating  Meadow  Grass,    -           -           .  Z-i^ 

16.  Flat  Stalked  Meadow  Grass,          -           -           -           -            I  235 

17.  Meadow  or  Woollv  Soft  Grass, 236 

18.  Fow^l  Meadow  Gra'ss,          .            .           ,  90^ 

19.  Crested  Dog's  Tail  Grass,              ------  236 

20.  Sheeirs  Fescue  Grass,        ....  237 

21.  Meadow  Fescue  Grass, 0^7 

22.  Floating  Fescue  Grass, 9^7 

23.  Hard  Fescue  Grass,            ...  5oq 
21.  Tall  Fescue  Grass,             -----""  238 


CONTENTS.  JX 

25.  Spiked  Fescue  Grass,         .  .  -  .  ,  Page  238 

26.  Yarrow, '^38 

27.  Blue  Dog's  Tail  Grass, 5239 

28.  Cichory, 239 

29.  Gama  Grass, 240 

30.  Guinea  Grass, 241 

31.  Blue  Grass, 241 

32.  Tares, 243 

33.  Ribbon  Grass, 244 

XIV.  MANAGEMENT  OP  GRASS  LANDS.  247 

1.  Hay-Making, 257 

2.  Soiling, 261 

3.  Grazing  or  Pasturing  Stock,            .....  266 

4.  Winter  Stall  Feeding,          ......  270 

XV.  GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM.  277 

1.  Artificial  Divisions  of  the  Farm,     -----  277 

2.  Stone  Fences,            ..--...  282 

3.  Live  Fences  or  Hedges,       .--.-.  285 

4.  Gates, 289 

XVI.  THE  DAIRY.  291 

Manufacture  of  Cream  Cheese,            -           -            .           -           -  292 

Manufacture  of  Butter,             ......  292 

Process  of  Cheese  Making,       .--..-  304 

XVII.  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  312 

1.  The  Horse,               .......  312 

2.  The  Ass  and  the  Mule, 328 

3.  Neat  Cattle— the  Ox, 329 

3.  The  Sheep, 358 

4.  Different  Varieties  or  Breeds  of  Sheep,      -           -           -           -  363 

5.  The  Hog, 390 

Diseases  Incident  to  Swine,          -            -           -            -            -  401 

Curing  of  Pork  and  Hams,           -            ...           -  403 

6.  Domestic  Fowls,       ....--.  406 

7.  Bees — their  Management,  &c:         ...'..  416 

SILK  AND  MULBERRIES.  427 

XVIIL  IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM.  431 

The  Plough, 431 

Trench  Plough, 432 

Side-hill  or  Swivel  Plough, 432 

Double  Furrow  Plough,            ...-.-  433 

Proutv  and  Mears'  Centre  Draught  Plough,              .           .           -  433 

The  Harrow, 433 

The  Berwickshire  Harrow,     .-----  434 

The  Brush  Harrow,      .--.---  435 

Conklin's  Revolving  Press  Harrow,               ....  435 

The  Grubber, 435 

Coulter  for  Loosening  the  Sub-Soil,     -           ...            -           -  436 

The  Roller, 437 

Buckminster's  Seed  Planter,     ..---.  438  ' 

The  Drill  Barr<>w, 438 

Bement's  Improved  Turnip  Drill,        -----  438 

Merchant's  Drill  Barrow,         ------  439 

Willis'  Seed  Sower, 439 

The  Clover  Box, 440 

The  Broadcast  Hand-Drill, 440 

The  Hand  Cultivator,              ...---  441 

Bement's  Cultivator,                -           -           -            -           -           -  441 

Allen's  Threshing  Machine, 442 


^  CONTEXTS. 

Vosburgh's  Threshirig  Machine,         .  .  _  ,  p^ge  443 

Hale's  Improved  Horse  PoTver  and  Thresher,  -  -  -  443 

Patent  Corn  Sheller,      ---...-  444 

The  Improved  Double  Operating  Cora  Sheller,  -  -  -  444 

Adriances  Patent,  and  Maxwell's  Self-feeding  Com  Sheller,  -  444 

The  "Winnowing  Machine.       --.-..  445 

Holmes'  Winnowing  Machine,  .....  445 

Thomas'  Improved  Grain  Cleanser,    -----  445 

Green's  Patent  Straw,  Hay  and  Stalk  Cotter,  -  -  -  446 

"Willis's  Improved  "V^egetable  Cutter,  -  -  .  .  446 

"Wilson's  Mowing  Machine  or  Grass  and  Grain  Cotter,        -  -  447 

Hussev's  Mowins  and  Reaping  Machine,       -  .  -  -  447 

The  Hay  Sweep,"  -------  449 

The  Common  Horse  P^ake,       ....--  450 

The  Revolving  Rake,         '..----  451 

Apparatus  for  Boiling  and  Steaming  Food,    -  -  -  -  453 

Prtming  Chisels  and  Saws,      ------  456 

The  Priming  Knife  and  Saw,  -  .  .  .  .  456 

Budding  and  Pruning  Knives,  .....  456 

Tree  Scrapers,  -------  456 

Fruit  Gatherers,  -------  456 

XIX.  PL-IXTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  USES  IX  DOMESTIC 

ECONOMY  -AXD  THE  ARTS.  457 

Fuller's  or  Clothier's  Teasel — Dipsar.vt  FuUonum,     -  -  -  457 

Black  and  "White  Mustard — Sinapis  Xigra  ct  Alia.  -  -  460 

The  Coriander,  -  -  -  -        '  -  -  -  461 

Caraway,  .----...  462 

The  Smooth  Liquorice,  ------  462 

Lavender,  ---..-.-  462 

Chamomile,       --....-.  463 

"WEEDS  OF  AGRICULTURE.  464 

XX.  ORCHARDS.  465 

Planting  and  Cultivation,         --....  465 

Manner  and  Time  of  Planting,  -  -  .  .  .  466 

Cultivation  of  the  Ground,       -..-..  467 

The  Nursery,     --------  468 

Grafting  and  Inoculating,         -.--..  470 

Transplanting,  -------  471 

Pruning.        "    -  -  -----  -  473 

Diseases' of  Fruit  Trees,  ------  476 

The  Apple  Tree,  --.._--  478 

The  Canker  "Worm,      -------  4S0 

The  Cnrculio,  ---....  4>j2 

Ga'.herine  atnd  Preserving  Fruit,         -  .  -  -  .  483 

Making  Cider,  --.....  434 

How  to  clean  the  Casks,  ------  4^4 

To  clear  the  Liquor  of  Pumace,  .  -  .  .  -  4^5 

Fermentingof  Cider,  Fining  and  Bottling,     -  -  -  -  486 

To  Check  the  Fermentation.    ------  486 

"Vinegar,  -  -       '    -  .  .  -  -  -  487 

The  Pear  Tree, -  488 

Diseases,  ----.._.  489 

The  Peach  Tree,  .......  490 

Apricots  and  NECTABrs-ES,        --..-.  493 

The  Plcm  Tree,  .......  493 

The  Cherry  Tree,         --.....  493 

The  Gtci>XE,      --...--.  4Q3 

APPENDIX.  495 


PRINCIPLES 


OP 


PRACTICAL   AGRICULTURE. 


L— SOILS.* 

I.    REMARKS  ON  THE  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  AND  CHARACTER  OF 

SOILS. 

By  analyzing  the  substance  which  constitutes  the  coat  or 
outer  covering  of  the  earth,  denominated  soil,  it  is  found  to 
consist  of  a  combination  or  mixture  of  several  distinct  and 
separate  descriptions  of  matter  which  chemists  have  denomi- 
nated primitive  earths,  forming  a  stratum  or  layer,  varying 
from  a  few  inches  to  several  feet  in  depth.  This  stratum  or 
soil  possesses  no  uniformit}^  of  colour,  but  is  naturally  some- 
what dark,  a  circumstance  arising  from  the  admixture  with  it 
of  the  decomposed  stems,  leaves,  and  other  parts  of  plants 
which  have  sprung  up  upon  it,  and  in  part  often  by  the  pre- 
sence of  animal  substances,  together  with  certain  saline  and 
mineral  ingredients.  It  is  this  outer  coat  or  covering  of  the 
earth  in  which  plants  are  produced. 

It  is  this  mixture  of  animal  and  vegetable  substances  \yith  the 
mineral  matter  of  the  upper  stratum,  which  distinguishes  it 
from  the  mass  of  earth  or  rock  lying  beneath  it,  to  which  the 
term  sub-soil  is  applied.  The  decomposed  animal  and  vege- 
table portion  of  the  soil  may  be  termed  mould;  and  it  is  the 
presence  of  mould  accordingly  which  distinguishes  the  soil 
from  the  sub-soil.* 

Soils  may  be  distinguished  according  to  their  texture  and 

*  In  this~and  the  following  section,  we  have,  in  part,  adopted  the  arrange- 
ment and  some  of  the  opinions  of  Professor  Lo\y,  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  science  being  the  same  in  every  country. 

t  Low  on  Agriculture. 
2 


24  SOILS. 

constitution,  when  they  may  be  divided,  for  all  necessary  pur- 
poses, into  two  classes — the  stiff  or  strong,  denominated  clays: 
the  light  or  free,  subdivided  into  the  sandy,  gravelly  and 
peaty:  and  all  three  again  may  be  distinguished,  1.  according 
to  their  power  of  production,  when  they  are  termed  rich  or 
poor;  and  2.  according  to  their  habitual  relation  with  respect 
to  moisture,  when  they  are  termed  wet  or  dry.  The  fer- 
tility will  also,  in  a  great  measure,  depend  upon  the  relative 
proportion  of  the  primitive  earths,  as  they  must  be  in  combi- 
nation to  ensure  a  good  soil. 

Soils  that  abound  with,  or  partake  of  clay,  marl,  mud,  or 
sand,  which  are  high  or  low,  dry  or  humid,  strong  or  light,  of 
which  the  staple  has  more  or  less  depth,  are  all  capable  of 
useful  production,  but  they  demand  a  different  cultivation  the 
one  from  the  other,  in  order  to  gain  the  products  which  each 
species  will,  or  is  able  to  yield.  The  tillage,  manure,  seeds, 
and  the  seasons  proper  for  the  different  operations  they  re- 
quire, are  among  the  objects  which  the  cultivator  ought  to  un- 
derstand.* It  is  only  by  experiments  made  upon  the  spot  itself, 
and  without  regarding  the  ancient  methods,  too  generally  fol- 
lowed in  every  country,  that  he  will  be  able  to  discover  the 
truth.  In  that  design  he  will  succeed  well,  and  even  beyond 
his  expectation — if  he  multiplies  his  essays  in  every  kind  of 
culture,  by  adopting  and  following  only  that  which  he  finds 
the  best  from  his  own  experience. 

The  fertility  of  soils  is  indicated  by  the  greater  or  smaller 
proportion  of  mould  which  enters  into  their  composition. 
When  soils  are  thus  naturally  fertile,  or  are  rendered  per- 
manently so  by  art,  they  are  frequently  termed  loams:  thus, 
there  are  clayey  loams  and  sandy  loams;  and  peat  itself  may, 
by  the  application  of  labour  and  art,  be  converted  into  loam. 

The  parts  of  plants  which  grow  upon  the  surface,  and  are 
mixed  with  the  mineral  matter  of  the  soil,  may  decompose  and 
become  mould.  Under  certain  circumstances,  however,  the 
plants  which  have  grown  upon  the  surface  do  not  decompose, 
but  undergo  a  peculiar  change,  which  fits  them  to  resist  decom- 
position. They  are  converted  into  peat,  and  the  soils  formed 
of  this  substance  are  termed  peaty.  The  peaty  soils  are  distin- 
guished from  all  others  by  their  great  diversity,  as  well  as  by 
their  peculiar  characters. 

Sub-soils  are  distinguished  from  soils,  properly  so  termed, 
by  the  absence  of  mould.  Plants  when  growing  may  extend 
their  roots  into  the  sub-soil,  and  decomposing  there  be  mixed 
with  it.     But  this  is  in  small  quantity,  and  for  the  most  part 

*  Arthur  Young,  Esq. 


SOILS.  25 

the  sub-soil  is  readily  distinguishable  by  the  eye  from  the 
upper  stratum  or  soil,  by  the  absence  of  animal  or  vegetable 
matter  in  a  decomposed  or  decomposing  state. 

Sub-soils  may  either  consist  of  loose  earthy  matter,  like  the 
soil,  or  they  may  consist  of  rock  sub-soils,  therefore  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes,  the  rocky  and  the  earthy.  The 
rocky  consists  of  granite,  sandstone,  limestone,  chalk,  and  the 
other  mountain  rocks  of  a  country.  When  readily  penetrated 
by  water  falling  on  the  soil,  they  are  termed  free  or  porous; 
but  when  they  resist  the  entrance  of  water  they  are  called  close 
or  retentive. 

The  earthy  sub-soils  may,  in  like  manner,  be  divided  into 
the  close  or  retentive,  and  the  free  or  porous.  The  retentive 
are  those  which,  from  containing  a  large  proportion  of  clay, 
are  tenacious  and  cohesive  in  their  parts;  that  is,  tending  to 
unite  in  a  mass  and  resist  separation.  They  also  resist  in  a 
great  measure  the  entrance  or  passage  of  fluids.  The  porous 
are  those  which,  having  less  of  clay  in  their  composition,  are 
more  readily  penetrated  b}^  water,  by  which  means  all  super- 
fluous moisture  may  be  absorbed. 

On  the  nature  of  the  under  stratum  depends  much  of  the 
value  of  the  surface  soil,  says  Mr.  Loudon,  and  on  various 
accounts  its  properties  merit  peculiar  attention.  He  says,  that 
by  examining  the  sub-soil,  information  may  be  obtained  in  re- 
gard to  the  soil  itself;  for,  although  the  substances  in  the  soil 
are  by  various  mixtures  in  the  course  of  cultivation  necessarily 
altered,  the  materials  of  the  soil  are  in  most  cases  identified 
with  or  similar  to  those  which  enter  largely  into  the  composi- 
tion of  the  sub-soil.  "Disorders  in  the  roots  of  plants  are  gene- 
rally owing  to  a  wet  or  noxious  sub-soil." 

There  are  only  four  kinds  of  simple  primitive  earths,  which 
enter  into  the  composition  of  soil.*  These  are  clay,  sand, 
lime  and  magnesia.  These,  variously  combined,  and  in  dif- 
ferent proportions,  so  far  as  earth  is  concerned,  constitute  all 
the  vast  varieties  of  soil,  such  as  wet,  dry,  warm,  cold,  light, 
heavy,  barren  or  fruitful. 

The  clayey  soils  have,  as  their  distinguishing  character,  the 
adhesiveness  of  their  parts;  and  this  property  alone  will  enable 
even  the  inexperienced  to  recognise  them  without  difficulty. 
Clay,  known  as  aluminous  or  argillaceous  earth,  as  an  ingre- 
dient of  soil,  has  the  four  following  properties  by  which  it 
exerts  a  powerful  effect  upon  vegetation.  First,  it  greatly 
absorbs  and  retains    moisture.     Secondly,  when   thoroughly 

*  There  are  also  other  earths  known  in  chemistry,  but  not  in  agriculture,  as 
they  are  found  only  in  certain  substances,  in  small  quantities,  and  do  not  form 
the  constituent  properties  or  parts  of  any  soil. 


IQ  SOILS. 

soaked  and  afterwards  dried,  it  hardens  and  cakes  into  a  solid 
mass,  and  if  quickly  brought  from  a  wet  to  a  dry  condition  it 
approaches  the  state  of  bricks  previous  to  their  being  burned. 
Thirdly,  when  exposed  to  heat  it  shrinks  and  looses  consider- 
able in  bulk.  Fourthly,  it  powerfully  retards  putrefaction  by 
enclosing,  as  in  a  case,  animal  and  vegetable  remains,  by  shut- 
ting out  the  dissolvent  action  of  the  external  air. 

Clay  soils  are  tilled  with  difficulty  when  too  dry,  and  when 
too  wet  this  operation  has  the  same  effect  as  the  tempering  of 
clay  has  in  the  art  of  making  bricks.  The  tillage  of  such  lands 
in  a  proper  state,  is  therefore  of  the  greatest  importance;  and 
this  is  best  performed  when  they  are  neither  too  wet  nor  too 
dry.  They  require  to  fertilize  them,  a  larger  proportion  of 
manures  than  the  freer  soils;  but  they  retain  the  efiects  of  the 
manures  for  a  much  longer  time.  They  are  better  suited  to 
the  cultivation  of  plants  with  fibrous  than  with  fleshy  roots  or 
tubers.  Hence  it  is  that  wheat,  beans,  oats,  clover,  cabbage, 
grass,  &c.,  do  well  on  clayey  soils. 

Clays,  like  the  other  soils,  approach  to  their  most  perfect 
condition  as  they  advance  to  that  state  which  is  termed  loam. 
The  effect  of  judicious  tillage  and  of  the  application  of  manures, 
is  to  improve  the  texture  of  such  soils  as  well  as  to  enrich  them. 
Thus,  clays  in  the  neighbourhood  of  cities  become  dark  in  their 
colour  and  less  cohesive  in  their  texture,  from  the  mixture  of 
animal  and  vegetable  matter,  and  thence  acquire  the  properties 
of  the  most  valued  soils  of  their  class.  The  value  of  a  clayey 
soil  depends  essentially  on  its  having  an  open  sub-soil,  which 
renders  it  more  tractable  and  productive.* 

Clayey  soils  need  only  to  be  properly  managed  to  become 
the  most  perfectly  fertile  and  productive  of  any.  It  is  recom- 
mended to  mix  with  the  soil  such  substances,  mineral  and  vege- 
table, as  will  separate,  loosen  and  mellow  it;  and  to  loosen  the 
sub-soil  either  by  the  use  of  the  sub-stratum  plough, t  or  other- 
wise, to  a  sufficient  depth  to  let  the  surplus  water  readily  pass 
below  the  roots  of  the  plants.  The  proper  substances  for  this 
purpose  are  vegetable  matter,  as  straw,  rushes,  even  small 
bushes,  saw-dust,  animal  manures,  sand,  anthracite  coal  ashes, 
and  where  the  soil  does  not  contain  lime,  that  may  be  most 
advantageously  applied.  Clay,  until  its  very  adhesive  proper- 
ties are  corrected,  is  an  unpleasant  soil  to  cultivate,  especially 
for  hoed  crops;  and  for  those  which  are  cultivated  solely  with 
the  plough,  more  skill,  as  well  as  more  labour  is  requisite  for 
preparing  the  ground  for  the  proper  reception  of  the  seed. 

Where  earths  have  been  rendered  as  dry  as  they  can  be  by 

*  Sir  John  Sinclair's  Code  of  Agriculture, 
t  See  chapter  on  Agricultural  Implements. 


SOILS.  J  7 

exposure  to  the  air,  they  still  retain  a  considerable  quantity  of 
moisture  or  water,  the  clayey  earths  containing,  when  appa- 
rently dry,  one  fourth  of  their  weight,  while  the  lighter  kinds 
hold  only  from  a  tenth  to  a  twentieth  part  of  the  fluid,  accord- 
ing as  the  sand  predominates.  It  would  seem  that  this  circum- 
stance gives  to  clayey  soils  the  advantage  which  they  possess 
over  those  which  are  light  and  sandy.  But  clays  may  never- 
theless be  too  solid  and  compact  to  admit  of  the  extension  of 
the  roots  of  plants  in  search  of  food,  and  in  such  case  the  evil 
is  to  be  corrected  by  the  application  of  sand,  or  some  other 
substance,  coal  ashes,  for  instance,  calculated  to  destroy  this 
undue  quality  of  adhesion.* 

Sand  or  gravel,  sometimes  called  silex,  silicious  matter,  or 
earth  oi  flmts,  is  distinguished  by  properties  of  a  totally  op- 
posite character.  1.  It  is  incapable  of  retaining  water  when 
poured  on  it,  and  far  more  of  attracting  moisture  from  the 
atmosphere.  2.  It  powerfully  promotes  putrefaction,  but  it 
suflers  the  gases  set  at  liberty  to  escape,  and  the  soluble  fluid 
matter  to  descend.  3.  There  is  little  or  no  cohesion  among 
its  several  parts. 

This  class  of  soils  belongs  to  that  denominated  the  light  or 
free.  They  are  readily  distinguished  from  the  stifi"  or  claj^e)' 
by  their  smaller  degree  of  tenacity.  They  are  less  suited  for 
the  production  of  wheat  and  beans  than  the  clays,  but  they  are 
well  adapted  for  the  production  of  jalants  cultivated  for  their 
roots  and  tubers,  as  the  turnip  and  potato.  This  class  of  soils 
may  be  divided  into  two  kinds,  or  sub-classes,  difi'ering  from 
each  other  in  certain  characters,  but  agreeing  in  the  common 
property  of  being  less  tenacious  in  their  parts  than  the  clays. 

The  sandy  soils  partake  of  all  the  degrees,  from  barrenness 
to  fertility.  When  wholly  without  cohesion  in  their  parts, 
they  are  altogether  barren,  and  are  only  rendered  productive 
by  the  admixture  of  other  substances,  such  as  marl,  clay,  shells, 
peat,  vegetable  earth,  &c.  It  frequently  happens  that  under 
the  sand  itself,  or  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  the  very 
materials  may  be  found  so  essential  to  its  improvement.  This 
is  the  case  in  parts  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland,  and  in  many  other  localities,  especially 
along  the  southern  seaboard. 

Sandy  soils,  being  easily  cultivated,  are  valuable,  unless  of 
the  poorest  class.  And  in  this  case  they  may,  by  a  proper  and 
judicious  course  of  treatment,  be  made  to  possess  a  greater  co- 
hesiveness  in  their  particles.  They  may  therefore  be  fertile 
by  nature,  or  rendered  so  by  art;  and  then  they  become  of 

*  Nicholson's  Farmer's  Assistant. 


J8  SOILS. 

deserved  estimation — being  denominated  rich  sands.  They 
are  cultivated  at  a  moderate  expense;  and  at  all  seasons  have  a 
dry  soundness,  accompanied  by  moisture,  which  generally 
secures  excellent  crops,  even  in  the  driest  summers. 

Rich  sa?ids  are  early  in  maturing  the  cultivated  plants — 
and  thence  they  are  familiarly  termed  kindly  soils.  They  are 
fit  for  the  production  of  every  variety  of  herbage  and  grain. 
They  yield  to  the  richer  clays  in  the  power  of  producing 
wheat,  but  they  surpass  them  in  the  production  of  rye  and 
barley.  They  are  well  suited  to  the  growth  of  the  cultivated 
grasses;  but  their  distinguishing  character  is  their  peculiar 
fitness  for  the  raising  of  the  plants  cultivated  for  their  roots 
and  tubers. 

Gravels,  like  sand,  have  all  the  gradations  of  quality,  from 
fertility  to  barrenness.  The  latter  are,  in  general,  termed 
hungry  soils,  from  their  tendency  to  absorb  manure  without 
any  apparent  corresponding  benefit  to  the  land;  but  as  their 
staple  becomes  firmer  by  the  admixture  of  other  earth,  so  do 
their  properties  improve.  The  richer  kinds  produce  every 
species  of  grain,  except  beans  and  wheat,  which  may  be  grown 
on  them  however,  but  not  to  decided  advantage.  They  are 
not  only  admirably  adapted  lo  the  growth  of  barley  and  oats, 
but  may  be  generally  regarded  as  trusty  soils,  with  regard  to 
the  quality  of  the  grain  which  they  yield;  and  being  quick  in 
their  powers  of  producing  vegetation,  they  are  in  some  places 
termed  sharp  or  quick  soils. 

Lime,  commonly  called  calcareous  earth,  though  one  of 
the  primitive  earths,  is  never  found  naturally  in  a  pure  state, 
forming  an  arable  surface.  It  is  nevertheless  present,  perhaps, 
in  all  good  soils;  is  widely  diffused,  and  performs  an  important 
function  in  the  vegetable  economy.  In  nature,  this  mineral  is 
usually  found  in  combination  with  acids.  Combined  with  car- 
bonic acid,  it  constitutes  the  numerous  varieties  of  marble, 
limestone  and  chalk.  In  this  and  other  combinations,  it  exists 
in  rocks,  in  soils,  in  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  in  plants,  and  in 
animals. 

It  is  chiefly  from  the  carbonate  that  the  lime  used  in  agricul- 
ture is  obtained.  If  a  piece  of  limestone  or  chalk,  pulverized, 
be  placed  in  strong  vinegar,  or  sulphuric  acid  (oil  of  vitriol), 
diluted  with  water,  there  will  be  an  effervescence.  This  is 
owing  to  the  carbonic  acid  being  set  at  liberty,  which  rising 
throws  up  bubbles  in  rapid  succession,  and  escapes  in  the  form 
of  gas.  The  carbonic  acid  is  also  driven  off  by  exposing  the 
carbonate  to  a  strong  heat;  and  that  which  remains  is  the 
caustic  earth  to  which  we  give  the  name  of  quick-lime.  The 
burning  of  limestone  is  for  this  purpose. 


SOILS. 


19 


Limestone,  in  burning,  loses  about  half  its  weight;  but  the 
quick-lime  thus  produced,  possesses  a  strong  affinity  for  water, 
which  it  will  absorb  from  the  atmosphere.  When  water  is 
applied  in  quantity,  it  is  absorbed  by  the  lime,  with  a  great 
evolution  of  heat,  and  this  is  the  process  of  slacking  so  well 
known.  The  lime  thus  combined  with  water  attracts  carbonic 
acid,  and  again  becomes  carbonate  of  lime.  It  differs  from  its 
original  state  in  its  external  characters  only,  and  in  the  lesser 
degree  of  cohesion  of  its  parts,  for  otherwise  the  substances  are 
the  same. 

As  an  ingredient  of  the  soil,  lime  is  closer  than  sand,  but 
much  less  adhesive  than  clay.  It  occupies  therefore  a  middle 
region,  as  it  were,  between  the  two,  free  from  their  imperfec- 
tions, and  blending  their  common  qualities.  It  is  also  a  neces- 
sary ingredient  in  the  organization  of  plants,  many  of  which 
cannot  reach  their  full  vigour  and  luxuriance  without  it. 
Wheat  in  particular  requires  its  presence,  and  where  it  does 
not  already  exist  in  the  soil,  it  ought  to  be  supplied,  at  what- 
ever expense,  for  the  production  of  superior  crops. 

Magnesia  earth,  like  lime,  is  usually  found  in  combination 
with  carbonic  acid — but  even  in  this,  its  natural  state,  it  exists 
in  such  very  small  quantities  in  soils,  and  is  found  so  rarely, 
and  the  functions  it  performs  in  the  economy  of  vegetation  so 
doubtful,  that  its  name  is  an  almost  useless  addition  to  the  list 
of  the  earths  of  agriculture. 

All  the  earths,  individually,  when  as  pure  as  they  are  ever 
furnished  by  nature,  are  entirely  barren,  nor  would  any  addi- 
tion of  putrescent  manures,  enable  either  of  the  earths  to  sup- 
port healthy  vegetable  life.  The  mixture  of  the  three  earths, 
first  enumerated,  in  due  proportion,  will  correct  the  defects  of 
all,  and  with  a  sufficiency  of  animal  or  vegetable  matter,  a  soil  is 
formed.  Such  is  the  natural  surface  of  almost  all  the  habitable 
world;  and  though  the  qualities  and  value  of  soils  are  as  va- 
rious as  the  proportions  of  their  ingredients,  yet  they  are 
mostly  so  constituted  that  no  earthy  ingredient  is  so  abundant 
but  that  the  texture  of  the  soil  is  mechanically  suited  to  the 
production  of  some  valuable  crop.  There  is  no  mode  of  im- 
proving the  fertility  of  a  soil,  so  permanently  efficacious,  as 
that  of  adding  to  the  land  a  proportion  of  the  earthy  ingredient 
of  which  it  is  naturally  deficient. 

Some  plants  require  a  degree  of  closeness,  and  others  of 
openness,  in  the  soil,  which  would  cause  other  plants  to  decline 
or  perish.  As  the  qualities  and  value  of  soils  depend  on  the 
proportion  of  their  ingredients,  and  the  grand  point  in  agri- 
culture being  to  obtain  a  mixture  of  the  earths  best  calculated 
to  produce  the  greatest  variety  of  the  most  valuable  crops,  we 


20  SOILS. 

are  enabled  to  comprehend  in  what  manner  that  object  may  be 
obtained. 

Silicious  (sandy)  and  aluminous  (clayey)  earths,  by  their 
texture,  as  before  observed,  serve  to  cure  the  defects  of  each 
other.  The  open,  loose,  thirst}-,  and  hot  nature  of  sand,  being 
corrected  by,  and  correcting  in  turn  the  close,  adhesive  and 
wet  properties  of  aluminous  earth.  This  curative  operation  is 
merely  mechanical;  it  seems  probable  that  calcareous  earth, 
wlien  in  large  proportion,  also  aids  the  corrective  power  of 
other  earth.  But  earth  is  not  the  only  substance  contained  in 
soils.* 

^Nluch  is  said  of  the  analysis  of  soil,  by  which  is  understood 
its  decomposition,  or  the  separating  of  its  parts  so  as  to  exhibit 
the  different  ingredients  it  contains  and  the  proportions  of 
each.  By  the  basis  of  any  soil,  we  understand  the  primitive 
earths  which  enter  into  its  composition.      See  Appendix  A. 

A  substance  that  exists  largely  diffused  in  the  mineral  king- 
dom, is  oxide,  or  rather  peroxide  of  iron.  It  is  found  exten- 
sively in  mountain  rocks,  and  it  exists  accordingly,  in  more  or 
less  quantity,  in  almost  every  soil.  Its  precise  effects,  how- 
ever, on  the  productive  power  of  soils,  have  not  been  well  de- 
termined; some  soils,  where  it  exists,  being  extremely  barren, 
while  in  some  very  fertile  soils  it  exists  in  large  quantity. 
Soils  which  contain  much  of  iron  may  be  termed  Ferru- 
ginous. 

It  is  therefore  all  important  that  the  farmer  should  acquire 
sufficient  knowledge  to  comprehend  and  understand  the  nature 
and  properties  of  his  soil,  and  the  various  substances  of  which 
it  is  composed — in  all  or  on  all  of  which  he  is  daily  engaged. 
His  subsequent  efforts  to  improve  the  soil,  will  no  longer  be 
submitted  to  guess  work,  but  will  be  regulated  by  a  correct  or 
proper  knowledge  of  the  materials  he  may  have  to  work  v/ith — 
how  each  may  be  best  applied  or  acted  upon  with  the  greatest 
advantage,  and  what  effects  will  ensue  from  their  diffei'ent  com- 
binations. There  is  no  need  for  the  farmer  to  be  a  profound 
chemist,  though  he  would  be  a  gainer  by  it.  He  should  cer- 
tainly understand  enough  to  enable  him  to  distinguish  the  cha- 
racter of  the  great  variety  of  soils,  and  the  proportions  of  their 
various  combinations. 

Lord  DuNPONALD,  in  a  treatise  published  many  years  since, 
says  that  the  cultivator  ''should  understand  the  properties  and 
effects,  and  superior  affinities  of  alkalies  and  acids — as  well  as 
the  names,  properties,  and  compounded  electrive  attractions 
attendant  on  the  mixture  of  the  different  neutral  salts,  and  their 
effects  on  vegetation.     They  should  be  well  acquainted  with 

*  See  an  interesting  paper  on  this  subject  by  Jossph  Cloud.  Esq.,  in  Far- 
mers' Cabinet. 


SOILS.  21 

the  powers  of  lime  and  other  mineral  agents,  and  distinctly 
comprehend  the  putrefactive  and  oxygenating  processes,  as  well 
as  the  consequences  resulting  from  the  action  of  fire  on  the 
vegetable  fibre  or  matter  contained  in  the  soil." 

A  judicious  farmer,  when  he  fixes  upon  a  spot  for  cultiva- 
tion, will  endeavour  to  ascertain  the  relative  proportion  or 
combinations  of  the  various  earths  constituting  the  soil  he  is  to 
till — in  what  proportions  they  severall)^  abound,  and  the  nature 
and  extent  of  the  vegetable  matter  existing  in  the  soil.  Pos- 
sessing this  information,  he  will  be  enabled  to  administer  to 
each  part  of  his  farm  those  particular  substances  necessary  to 
render  it  a  rich  and  fertile  mould. 

''When  we  regard  the  distribution  of  plants  in  different 
regions,  we  perceive  that  this  is  determined  by  causes  which 
have  little  relation  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  on  which  the 
plants  grow.  The  soils  of  all  countries  are,  in  their  essential 
characters,  alike.  The  same  mineral  masses,  composed  of  the 
same  substances,  exist  over  all  the  world,  and  yield,  by  their 
disintegration  or  decomposition  the  same  materials  for  form- 
ing soils. 

"Yet,  although  the  mineral  matter  of  the  soils  of  all  coun- 
tries is  thus  similar  in  its  constituent  parts,  it  is  altogether 
different  with  the  vegetation  by  which  these  soils  are  charac- 
terized. Every  zone,  from  the  equator  to  the  polar  circle,  is 
distinguished  by  a  different  vegetation,  and  different  regions 
have  their  peculiar  natural  plants. 

"Among  the  natural  causes  which  effect  the  vegetation  of 
countries,  the  influence  of  Teinperature  is  that  which  is  the 
most  obvious  to  the  senses.  When  we  pass  from  a  warm  coun- 
try to  a  cold,  we  perceive  a  change  in  the  whole  character  of 
the  vegetation.  We  cannot  ascend  a  mountain  without  find- 
ing such  a  change  in  the  character  of  the  plants  produced,  and 
in  the  vigour  with  which  they  grow,  dependent  upon  the  change 
of  atmosphere," 

The  degree  of  Moisture,  too,  the  distance  or  proximity  of 
the  sea,  and  other  circumstances  connected  with  the  climate 
and  physical  condition  of  the  country,  affect  the  nature  of  its 
vegetable  productions,  and  show,  that  the  influence  of  soil, 
with  respect  to  the  kinds  of  plants  produced,  is  entirely  sub- 
ordinate to  that  of  temperature,  and  the  effects  of  climate. 
Water  constitutes  a  large  portion  of  all  plants — without  which 
they  either  become  stunted  in  their  growth,  or  perish — yet 
water  alone,  without  the  addition  of  other  substances,  will  not 
sustain  them,  much  less  bring  them  to  perfection. 

It  is  generally  known,  that  soils  possess  the  power  of  ab- 
sorbin^  moisture  (or  water)  in  different  degrees.  This  power 
depends  more  upon  the  geine  of  soils  than  any  other  prin- 


22  SOILS. 

ciple.  Jllumina  stands  next  on  the  list  in  its  degree  of  ab- 
sorbing power — next,  carbonate  of  lime;  and  least  of  all, 
siiicia.*  Hence  there  ought  to  be  a  general  correspondence 
between  the  absorbing  power  of  a  soil  and  its  fertility;  and, 
therefore,  this  property  affords  some  assistance  in  estimating 
the  value  of  a  soil. 

When  we  extend,  then,  the  range  of  our  observation  to  dif- 
ferent or  distant  countries,  we  see  that  the  nature  of  the  plants 
cannot  indicate  that  of  the  soils  on  which  they  grow.  It  is 
only  within  narrow  limits,  and  under  given  conditions  of  cli- 
mate, that  the  kinds  of  plants  afford  any  certain  indication  of 
the  nature  of  the  soils  which  produce  them. 

In  distinguishing  soils,  a  difficulty  frequently  occurs  in  dis- 
criminating \\\Q,  jjeaty  from  the  earthy.  Peaty  soils  generally 
lie  on  a  retentive  sub-soil;  but  perhaps  the  best  method  of  dis- 
tinguishing them  in  the  absence  of  their  peculiar  veggtation, 
is  by  the  stones  which  lie  upon  their  surface.  These  appear 
to  be  acted  upon  by  the  acid  matter  of  the  peat,  which,  when 
once  observed,  will  not  be  easily  mistaken  again.  Coupling 
this  indication  with  the  dull  black,  as  distinguished  from  the 
brighter  hazel  of  the  loam,  and  above  all,  with  the  peculiar 
vegetation  and  sterile  aspect  of  the  surface,  an  observer  will 
soon  learn  to  distinguish  the  peaty  soils  from  the  earth3^ 

In  examining  the  earthy  soils,  an  essential  circumstance  to 
be  regarded  is,  the  depth  of  the  soil,  and  the  texture  of  the 
sub-soil.  A  medium  depth  of  a  soil,  may  be  held  to  be  from 
ten  to  twelve  inches.  But  it  will  be  better  that  it  exceed  a 
foot,  and  this  greater  depth  of  the  soil  is  always  a  favourable 
indication.  If  the  depth  of  the  soil  does  not  exceed  six  inches, 
it  may  be  considered  as  an  unfavourable  indication.  But  the 
staple  of  such  soils,  by  careful,  persevering  and  judicious 
management,  may  be  greatly  improved,  and  brought  to  such  a 
state  as  to  rank  with  those  of  the  most  fertile  class  of  soils; 
but  this,  in  a  great  measure,  depends  upon  the  character  of  the 
sub-soil. 

Shallow  soils  are  rarely  good,  except  sometimes  when  they 
occur  resting  on  peculiar  rocks,  as  compact  limestone,  and  cer- 
tain easily  decomposed  basalts.  If  a  shallow  soil  shall  occur 
on  a  retentive  clay,  or  on  silicious  sand,  we  may  certainly  pro- 
nounce it  to  be  bad.  When  in  the  common  operations  of 
tillage  the  plough  is  constantly  turning  up  a  sub-soil  very  dif- 
ferent in  colour  from  the  upper  stratum,  that  is  an  unfavourable 
indication. 

^Vhen  we  find  the  rain  in  a  furrow  of  ordinary  descent  car- 
rying off  the  soil,  and  leaving  the  sub-soil  exposed,  that  is  an 

*  See  Hitchcock's  Economical  Geology  of  Massachusetts.  It  is  replete  with 
interesting  facts. 


SOILS.  23 

unfavourable  Indication.  It  is  desirable  to  see  the  water  in  the 
furrows  sink  down  and  be  absorbed,  instead  of  carrying  off  the 
surface  soil.  If  the  soil  be  of  a  dull  black  colour,  and  if  it  pre- 
sent upon  its  surface  the  white  stones  just  referred  to,  that  is 
an  unfavourable  indication,  as  it  shows  that  the  soil  has  more 
or  less  of  peat  in  its  composition. 

If  the  soil  produces  sub-aquatic  plants,  it  is  wet.  If  we  find 
that  such  a  soil  is  peaty,  or  shallow  on  a  retentive  sub-soil,  it 
is  naturally  sterile.  If  we  find  that  the  sub-aquatic  plants  are 
tall  and  vigorous,  and  the  soil  earthy  and  deep,  the  removal  of 
the  wetness  may  remove  the  cause  of  infertility,  and  such  a 
soil  may  become  of  the  richest  kind. 

If  we  find  a  soil  producing  naturally  the  superior  herbage 
plants,  and  of  a  good  depth,  that  soil  we  may  infer  to  be  good. 
When  soil  of  this  kind  tends  to  a  dark  hazel  colour,  we  may 
safely  rank  it  among  the  superior  soils. 


II.    MEANS  OF  INCREASING  THE  PRODUCTIVE  POWER  OF  SOILS. 

The  means  at  our  command  for  increasing  the  productive 
powers  of  soils  may  be  comprehended  under  the  following 
general  heads:  1.  Supplying  to  the  soil  those  organic  and 
earthy  substances  which  may  be  required.  [The  grand  deside- 
ratum in  many,  if  not  most,  infertile  soils  is  calcareous  mat- 
ter, that  is,  carbonate  of  lime.  The  second  desideratum  is  an 
additional  quantity  of  geine,  that  is,  a  larger  supply  of  the  food 
of  plants.]  2.  Altering  its  depth,  texture,  and  properties  by 
tillage  and  other  means.  3.  Changing  its  relation  with  respect 
to  moisture.  4.  Changing  its  relation  with  respect  to  temper- 
ature. 

Vegetable  and  animal  matters,  in  a  decomposing  state,  appear 
to  act  in  various  ways  in  increasing  the  productive  powers  of 
the  soil.  They  improve  its  texture,  and  they  may  be  supposed 
to  increase  its  power  to  absorb  and  retain  moisture;  but  above 
all,  they  supply  that  matter,  which,  in  whatever  form  con- 
veyed to  the  organs  of  plants,  tends  to  nourish  them.  This 
matter  being  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  the  plants,  it  must  be 
supplied  when  exhausted. 

Experience  has  in  every  age  accordingly  taught  the  hus- 
bandman to  supply  those  substances  to  the  soil;  and  the  doing 
so  forms  one  of  the  most  important  means  at  his  command  of 
maintaining  or  increasing  its  fertility. 

Besides  the  animal  and  vegetable  matter  which  is  mixed  or 
combined  with  the  mineral  part  of  the  soil,  and  is  essential  to 


24  SOILS. 

its  productiveness,  the  mineral  parts  themselves  require  to  be 

mixed  together  in  certain  proportions,  and  in  certain  states  of 
division,  in  order  to  produce  the  greatest  degree  of  fertility. 

Silica  (sand)  and  alumina  (clay)  form  the  principal  mineral 
parts  of  the  soil.  If  one  or  other  of  these  earths  be  in  excess, 
the  soil  is  defective  in  its  composition.  If  the  alumina  prevail, 
the  soil  is  too  adhesive — if  the  silica  prevail,  it  is  too  loose;  a 
medium  is  therefore  best:  and  although  the  precise  proportions 
in  which  these  two  earths  should  exist  have  not  been  deter- 
mined, it  is  safer  that  there  should  be  a  tendency  to  an  excess 
of  clay  than  of  sand.  Further,  the  fertility  of  the  soil  depends 
on  the  state  of  mechanical  division  of  these  minerals;  that  is, 
the  more  thoroughly  the  parts  are  separated  or  pulverized,  the 
greater  will  be  the  increased  fertility  of  the  soil. 

Sometimes  therefore  we  have  the  means  of  improving  the 
constitution  of  soils,  by  mixing  sand  with  clay,  or  clay  with 
sand.  But  in  practice,  the  ver}^  extensive  mixing  of  these  two 
substances  is  rare,  because  the  state  in  which  sand  and  clay  are 
usually  available  for  this  purpose,  it  seldom  happens  that  the 
matter  of  both  is  in  that  state  of  minute  division  which  is  fa- 
vourable to  fertility. 

It  is  otherwise  with  the  earth  Lime.  This  can,  in  all  cases, 
be  reduced  by  heat  to  that  state  of  minute  division  which  is 
favourable  to  the  productiveness  of  soils;  and  hence  it  can 
always  be  supplied  with  benefit  to  those  soils  in  which  its  pre- 
sence is  required. 

The  composition  of  soils  may  be  improved,  as  we  have 
shown,  by  the  addition  of  animal  and  vegetable  matter;  and 
also,  in  many  cases,  by  the  addition  of  those  earths  in  which 
they  may  be  deficient;  and  in  an  especial  degree  of  lime,  which 
we  can  always  employ  in  the  form  of  minute  division,  best 
suited  to  improve  the  composition  of  the  soil.  This  is  the 
first  of  the  means  referred  to  of  adding  to  the  productive 
powers  of  soils. 

The  second  mode  referred  to  of  increasing  the  productive 
powers  of  soils,  is  that  of  altering  their  texture,  depth  and  pro- 
perties, by  tillage  and  other  means.  The  mere  effect  of  that 
separation  of  the  parts  of  the  soil  which  it  undergvoes  in  the 
common  operations  of  tillage,  is  seen  to  have  a  very  beneficial 
influence  on  its  productive  powers.  Whether  it  imbibes  from 
the  atmosphere  any  thing  besides  aqueous  vapour  or  not,  it  is 
known  that  the  exposure  of  the  matter  of  the  soil  to  the  at- 
mosphere, and  the  separation  or  pulverization  of  its  parts  by 
tillage,  add  permanently  to  its  fertility. 

The  first  object  of  pulverization  is  to  give  scope  to  the  roots 
of  vegetables,  for  without  an  abundance  of  roots  or  fibres  no 


.  Collejnre 


SOILS.  25 

plant  can  become  vigorous,  whatever  may  be  the  richness  of 
the  soil  in  which  it  may  be  placed.  The  more  the  soil  is  pul- 
verized, the  more  numerous  are  the  absorbing  fibres  of  the 
roots,  the  more  extract  is  consequently  absorbed,  and  the  more 
vigorous  does  the  plant  become.  Pulverization  therefore  is 
not  only  advantageous  previously  to  planting  or  sowing,  but 
also  during  the  process  of  vegetation,  when  applied  in  the 
intervals  between  the  plants. 

We  thus  learn  from  experience  the  good  effects  of  tilling 
lands  well.  Soils  once  tilled  are  rendered  for  the  most  part 
more  productive  by  the  process.  Peaty  turf,  if  suffered  to 
remain  in  its  original  state,  may  continue  to  produce  nothing 
but  the  most  useless  plants;  but  if  merely  ploughed  and  ex- 
posed to  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere,  it  will  at  once  tend  to 
produce  grass  of  a  better  kind  and  of  greater  variety. 

Another  purpose  sometimes  promoted  by  tillage,  and  sub- 
servient to  the  amendment  of  the  soil,  is  the  deepening  of  the 
upper  stratum.  The  sub-soil,  as  has  been  already  shown,  is 
distinguished  from  the  soil,  properly  so  called,  by  the  former 
containing  less  vegetable  and  animal  matter,  and  so  being  less 
suited  to  the  nourishment  of  plants;  and  in  certain  cases  it  is 
even  found  to~-be  injurious  to  vegetation.  But  as  a  good  depth 
of  soil  is  necessary,  (unless  under  rare  and  peculiar  circum- 
stances,) it  is  often  expedient,  in  order  to  effect  a  permanent 
improvement  of  the  surface,  to  plough  up  and  mix  with  it  a 
portion  of  the  sub-soil,  even  though  that  sub-soil  should  be  in 
itself  infertile. 

Another  means  possessed  by  us  of  adding  to  the  productive- 
ness of  soils,  by  changing  their  composition,  is  by  incineration, 
commonly  called  paring  and  burning.  These  are  the  prin- 
cipal mechanical  means  by  which  we  can  improve  the  soil. 

The  third  mode  referred  to  of  increasing  the  productive 
powers  of  soils,  is  changing  their  relation  with  respect  to  mois- 
ture. The  water  of  the  soil  where  superabundant  may  be 
withdrawn,  and  when  deficient  supplied.  The  first  method  is 
termed  draining,  and  the  latter  irrigation,  both  of  which 
form  a  peculiar  branch  of  agricultural  improvement,  and  will 
be  treated  of  in  this  work. 

The  last  of  the  means  referred  to  of  increasing  the  produc- 
tive powers  of  soils,  is  by  changing  their  relation  with  respect 
to  temperature.  This  mode  is  less  within  our  control  than 
any  of  the  others.  It  is  only  by  slow  degrees  that  we  can  im- 
prove the  climate  of  a  country.  It  is  chiefly  by  draining  and 
by  the  rearing  of  hedges  and  wood;  and  all  of  these  accord- 
ingly form  important  objects  of  rural  economy.* 

♦  Low's  Practice  of  Agriculture. 


26 


II.— MANURES. 

All  substances  which,  when  mixed  with  the  matter  of  the 
soil  tend  to  fertilize  it,  or  existing  in  the  atmosphere  can  be 
drawn  in  by  the  organs  of  plants,  and  thereby  contribute  to  the 
progress  of  vegetation,  are  in  common  language  termed  Ma- 
nures. Manures  may  be  composed  of  animal  or  vegetable 
substances — or  they  may  consist  of  mineral  matter — or,  they 
may  be  derived  partly  from  mineral  and  partly  from  animal 
and  vegetable  substances.  They  may  therefore  be  classed,  ac- 
cording to  their  origin,  into — 1.  Animal  and  vegetable  manures. 
2.  Mineral  manures.     3.  INIixed  manures. 

A  manure  may  also  be  defined  to  be  "the  addition  to  land  of 
any  fertilizing  principle,  or  ingredient,  in  which  the  soil  is 
naturally  deficient."  The  three  earths,  lime,  alumina,  (clay,) 
and  silex,  (flint,)  constitute,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  the 
principal  ingredients  in  all  cultivated  soils — the  richest  soils 
are  those  in  which  these  three  earths  are  mixed  in  the  most 
fertile  proportions — the  excess  of  either  renders  the  soil  bar- 
ren. The  farmer  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  what  is 
commonly  called  clay  is  exclusively  alumina,  for  such  is  not 
the  fact,  as  some  stiff  soils  denominated  clayey,  have,  on  a 
careful  analysis,  been  found  to  contain  from  twenty-eight  to 
sixty-three  per  cent,  of  that  material.  The  fact  is  mentioned 
in  this  place  in  order  that  farmers  may  be  on  their  guard. 


I.    ANIMAL  AND  VEGETABLE  MANURES. 

On  examining  the  constituents  of  vegetables,  we  shall  find 
that  they  are  composed  of  oxygen,  [formerly  called  vital  air,] 
carbon,  [coaly  matter,]  hydrogen,  [inflammable  air,]  and  nitro- 
gen, or  azote,  which  is  one  of  the  constituent  parts  of  the 
atmosphere.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  substances  em- 
ployed as  manure  should  also  be  composed  of  these  elements, 
for,  unless  they  are,  there  will  be  a  deficiency  in  some  of  the 
principles  of  the  vegetable  itself — and  it  is  probable  that  such 
deficiency  may  prevent  the  formation  of  those  substances 
within  it  for  which  its  peculiar  organization  is  contrived, 
and  upon  which  its  healthy  existence  depends. 

But  tliere  are  likewise  found  in  plants,  though  in  compara- 
tively minute  quantity,  certain  other  bodies,  consisting  chiefly 
of  the  four  earths,  silica,  alumina,  lime,  and  magnesia,  of  the 
oxide  of  iron,  and,  in  small  quantity,  the  oxide  of  manganese, 


MANURES.  27 

and  of  the  alkalies  soda  and  potassa,  but  chiefly  the  latter. 
Now  all  these  bodies,  or  the  elements  of  these  bodies,  exist  in 
animal  and  vegetable  manures;  for  these  being  animal  and 
vegetable  substances,  are  resolved  into  carbon,  hydrogen, 
oxygen  and  nitrogen,  with  the  intermixed  earthy  and  other 
bodies  existing  in  the  living  plants. 

In  supplying,  therefore,  animal  and  vegetable  substances  to 
the  soil  in  a  decomposing  state,  we,  in  truth,  supply  the  same 
substances  which  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  living 
plants.  These  substances  indeed  exist  in  the  dead  matter  of 
the  manures,  in  states  of  combination  different  from  those  in 
which  they  exist  in  the  living  vegetable.  But  still  they  are 
present,  and  no  doubt  supply  the  nutritive  matter  which  the 
plants  require  in  growing. 

Science  has  made  known  to  us  the  truth,  that  the  living 
plant  and  the  dead  manure  are  resolvable  into  the  same  ele- 
mentary substances;  but  experience  has  not  the  less  taught  the 
husbandman  in  every  age,  that  all  animal  and  vegetable  sub- 
stances, mixed  with  the  matter  of  the  soil,  tend  to  fertilize  it 
by  affording  nourisliment  to  the  plants  which  it  produced. 

Vegetable  and  animal  substances  deposited  in  the  soil,  as  is 
shown  by  universal  experience,  are  consumed  during  the  pro- 
cess of  vegetation,  and  they  can  only  nourish  the  plant  by 
affording  solid  matters  capable  of  being  dissolved  by  water;  or 
gaseous  substances  capable  of  being  absorbed  by  the  fluids  in 
the  leaves  of  vegetables;  but  such  parts  of  them  as  are  ren- 
dered gaseous,  and  pass  into  the  atmosphere,  must  produce 
comparatively  small  effect,  for  gases  soon  become  diffused 
through  the  mass  of  the  surrounding  air.  . 

The  great  object,  therefore,  in  the  application  of  manure, 
should  be  to  make  it  afford  as  much  soluble  matter  as  possible 
to  the  roots  of  the  plant,  and  that  in  a  slow  and  gradual  man- 
ner, so  that  it  may  be  entirely  consumed  in  forming  its  sap 
and  organized  parts.  Water  is  apparently  the  medium  by 
which  all  the  matter  of  nutrition,  in  whatever  form,  is  con- 
veyed into  the  roots  of  plants,  and  without  which,  accordingly, 
vegetation  is  never  known  to  take  place.  Therefore  it  is,  that 
the  substances  which  form  animal  and  vegetable  manures,  be- 
fore they  can  be  made  available  as  nutriment  to  plants,  must 
be  rendered  soluble  in  water. 

Till  within  a  few  years  past,  the  state  in  which  vegetable  or  animal  matter 
exists  in  the  soil,  and  the  changes  through  which  it  passes  before  being  taken 
up  by  the  roots  of  the  plant,  were  almost  entire])'  unknown  to  chemists.  Long 
ago,  however,  Ki^aproth  had  discovered  a  peculiar  substance  in  the  elm  tree, 
which  he  denominated  ulmin.  More  recently  it  was  found  by  Bkaconnot  in 
starch,  saw-dust,  and  sugar — and  by  the  distinguished  Swedish  chemist,  Ber- 
zELius,  in  all  kinds  of  barks.  Sprengel,  and  Polydore  Boullay,  have  ascer- 
tained, also,  that  it  constitutes  a  leading  principle  in  manures  and  soils.  Hence 
they  called  it  Humi/i  (or,  as  is  generally  written.  Hu7iius);  but  Berzelius  adopts 


28  MANURES. 

the  name  of  Geine.  When  wet,  it  is  a  gelatinous  mass,  which,  on  drying,  be- 
comes of  a  deep  brown,  or  almost  black  colour,  without  taste  or  smell,  and 
insoluble  in  water;  and  therefore,  in  this  state,  incapable  of  being  absorbed  by 
the  roots  of  plants.  Yet,  after  the  action  of  alkalies  upon  it,  it  assumes  the  cha- 
racter of  an  acid,  and  unites  with  ammonia,  potassa,  lime,  alumina,  &c.,  and 
forms  a  class  of  bodies  called  Geates,  most  of  which  are  soluble  in  water,  and 
therefore  capable  of  being  taken  up  by  plants.  And  it  is  in  this  state  of  geates, 
that  this  substance  for  the  most  part  exists  in  the  soil. — Economical  Gcografh. 
of  Massachusetts,  by  Edward  Hitchcock,  Esq. 

The  statements  of  Berzelius,  though  highly  interesting  in 
a  theoretical  point  of  view,  afford  very  little  light,  and  conse- 
quently but  little  information  to  the  practical  agriculturist. 
Those  of  Dr.  Samuel  J.  Dana  appear  far  more  important,  in 
a  scientific  as  well  as  a  practical  view  of  the  subject,  notwith- 
standing they  essentially  coincide  with  those  European  che- 
mists as  far  as  they  have  gone.*  "This  method  of  analysis, 
derived  from  his  researches,  I  must  say,  after  having  made 
extensive  application  of  it  to  our  soils,  is  simple  and  elegant — 
and,  taken  in  connexion  with  his  preliminary  remarks — it  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  a  most  important  contribution  to  agricultural 
chemistry,  and  promises  much  for  the  advancement  of  practical 
agriculture."! 

By  Geine,  says  Dr.  Dana,  I  mean  all  the  decomposed  organic  matter  of  the 
soil.  It  results  chiefly  from  vegetable  decomposition — animal  substances  pro- 
duce a  similar  compound  containing  azote.  Geine  exists  in  two  states— soluble 
and  insoluble:  soluble  both  in  water  and  in  alkali — in  alchoholand  acids.  So- 
luble geine  is  the  food  of  plants.  Insoluble  geine  becomes  food  by  air  and 
moisture.  Hence  the  reason  and  re.sult  of  tillage.  Hence  the  reason  of  em- 
ploying pearl  ash  to  separate  soluble  and  insoluble  geine  in  analysis.  These 
are  the  facts.  Will  they  not  [ultimately]  lead  us  to  a  rational  account  of  the 
use  of  lime,  clay,  ashes  and  spent  leyl  Will  they  not  account  for  the  supe- 
riority of  unfermented  o\"er  fermented  dung  in  some  cases'? 

Gei7ie  forms  the  basis  of  all  the  nourishing  part  of  all  vegetable  manures. 
The  relations  of  soils  to  heat  and  moisture  depend  chiefly  on  geine.  It  is  in 
fact,  under  its  three  states  of  "-vcgdahU  extract,  geine  and  carbonaceous  mould,'' 
the  principle  which  gives  fertility  to  soils,  long  after  the  action  of  common 
manures  has  ceased.  In  these  three  states  if  is  essentially  the  same.  The  ex- 
periments of  Saussure  have  long  ago  proved  that  air  and  moisture  convert 
insoluble  into  soluble  geine.  Of  all  the  problems  to  be  solved  in  agricultural 
chemistry,  none  is  of  such  great  practical  importance  as  the  determination  of 
the  quantity  of  soluble  or  insoluble  geine  in  soils.  This  is  a  question  of  much 
higher  importance  than  the  nature  and  proportions  of  the  earthy  constituents, 
and  soluble  salts  of  soils.  It  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  successful  cultivation. 
Its  importance  has  been  not  so  much  overlooked  as  undervalued. 

Among  the  few  facts  best  established  in  chemical  agricul- 
ture, are  these:  That  a  soil,  whose  earthy  part  is  composed 
wholly,  or  chiefly,  of  one  earth;  or  any  soil  with  excess  of 
salts,  is  always  barren;  and  that  plants  grow  equally  well  on 
all  soils,  destitute  of  geine,  up  to  the  period  of  fructification — 

*  It  is  but  justice  to  say,  that  Dr.  Dana  derived  his  knowledge  of  geine  chiefly 
from  his  own  researches,  made  with  a  view  to  improve  the  colouring  process 
in  the  calico  printing  establishment  at  Lowell— and  his  method  of  analyzing 
soils  is  altogether  original.— i/iYcAcoc/j's  Geology.        +  Ibid.,  page  30. 


MANURES. 


29 


failing  of  geine,  the  fruit  fails,  the  plants  die.  Earths,  and  soils, 
and  geine,  constitute,  then,  all  that  is  essential — and  soils  will 
be  fertile,  in  proportion  as  the  last  is  mixed  with  the  first. 
The  earths  are  plates,  the  salts  the  seasoning,  the  geine  the 
food  of  plants.  The  salts  can  be  varied  but  very  little  in  their 
proportions  without  injur}^  The  earths  admit  of  wide  variety 
in  their  nature  and  proportions.*  The  doctrines  of  Berze- 
tiusand  others,  have  encountered  an  opponent — no  less  zealous 
than  intelligent — in  M.  F.  V.  Raspail,  a  celebrated  French 
chemist,  who,  in  his  System  of  Organic  Chemistry,  now  trans- 
lated into  English,  denies  the  existence  of  any  such  proximate 
principle  in  soils  as  geine. 

Of  the  means  which  nature  employs  for  this  purpose,  fer- 
mentation appears  to  be  the  chief.  The  elementary  parts  of 
the  substances  fermented,  assume  new  forms  of  combination, 
and  become  fitted  to  supply  the  matter  of  nutrition  to  plants 
in  that  form  in  which  it  can  be  received  by  the  pores  of  the 
roots.  The  process  of  fermentation  is  completed  after  the  sub- 
stance to  be  used  as  a  manure  is  mixed  with  the  matter  of  the 
soil.  It  is  common  also  to  cause  it  to  undergo  a  certain  degree 
of  fermentation  before  it  is  mixed  with  the  earth.  This  is  the 
method  of  preparing  this  class  of  manures  for  use,  which  is 
employed  in  the  practice  of  the  farm. 

Animal  matters  decompose  with  facility  when  acted  upon 
by  moisture  and  the  air,  the  greater  proportion  of  their  ele- 
mentary parts  making  their  escape  in  various  forms  of  gaseous 
combination,  leaving  the  earths,  alkalies,  and  part  of  the  car- 
bonaceous matter  remaining.  But  when  this  decomposition 
takes  place  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground,  these  gaseous 
compounds,  as  well  as  the  carbon,  which,  when  it  combines 
with  oxygen,  assumes  also  the  gaseous  state,  is  partially  or 
wholly  retained  in  the  earth,  to  afford  the  matter  of  nutrition 
to  the  plants. 

Therefore  no  putrefactive  process  ought  to  be  suffered  to 
proceed  on  a  farmer's  premises,  without  his  adopting  some 
mode  to  save,  as  far  as  possible,  the  gaseous  products  of  such 
putrescence.  These  gaseous  products,  as  has  been  observed, 
constitute  important  elements  of  vegetable  food,  and  a  farmer 
may  as  well  suffer  his  cattle  to  stray  away  from  his  stall,  or  his 
swine  from  their  sty,  without  a  possibility  of  reclaiming  them, 
as  permit  the  principles  of  fertility  expelled  by  fermentation 
or  putrefaction  to  escape  into  the  atmosphere  for  the  purpose 
of  poisoning  the  air,  instead  of  feeding  the  plants. 

It  is  very  easy  to  arrest  these  particles,  and  thereby  prevent 

♦  Dr.  Dana's  Letter  to  Professor  HitcUcock. 
3* 


30  MANURES. 

the  escape  of  the  gaseous  matter  into  the  atmosphere;  as  a 
quantity  of  earth  thrown  over  the  matter  in  which  the  fer- 
mentation is  going  on,  will  check  its  violence  and  arrest  its 
gaseous  products,  which  will  be  imbibed  by  the  soil,  and  after- 
wards yielded  to  plants  in  such  proportion  as  the  wants  of 
vegetation  may  require. 

Fermentation,  that  destroyer  of  all  organic  conformation,  is 
not  to  be  feared  by  the  farmer,  if  it  be  carried  on  in  the  pre- 
sence of  earth,  which  fixes  and  secures  the  gases  as  fast  as 
they  are  liberated.  In  the  composite-hill  [compost-heap]  the 
whole  animal  or  vegetable  structure  may  be  dissolved,  and 
leave  behind  no  trace  of  existence,  without  the  least  waste  of 
the  principles  of  fertility. 

We  may  go  farther  and  state  that  complete  decomposition  is 
desirable  in  this  case,  which  is  so  much  to  be  avoided  in  the 
farm-yard;  because  putrescent  matter  can  only  become  vegeta- 
ble food  by  its  resolution  into  primary  parts,  and  if  this  be 
effected  by  any  preparatory  step,  the  young  crop  receives  the 
full  and  immediate  benefit.  The  compost  manure  is  carried  to 
the  field  ready  to  give  out  its  richness  on  the  very  first  call, 
and  to  supply  the  nascent  radicle  [young  root]  with  a  copious 
share  of  nourishment. 

The  putrefactive  process  may  be  carried  on  in  the  presence 
of  pure  earth  only,  or  of  earth  intermingled  with  fibrous 
roots,  or  lastly  in  the  presence  of  peat,  which  is  an  assemblage 
of  inert  vegetable  matter,  and  compost  dung-hills  may  be 
formed  according  to  this  threefold  method. 

The  simplest  of  all  composts  is  a  mixture  of  barn-yard 
dung  and  surface-mould  taken  from  a  field  under  regular  cul- 
ture. The  proportions  between  the  ingredients  are  fixed  by  no 
determinate  laws,  and  consequently  great  liberty  is  allowed  to 
the  operator.  Some  use  two  cart  loads  of  dung  to  one  of  earth, 
others  blend  them  in  equal  quantities,  and  it  is  not  unfrequent 
to  compound  them  two  of  earth  and  one  of  dung.  Such  is  the 
uncertainty  in  the  composition,  that  almost  every  farmer  adopts 
a  method  peculiar  to  himself,  and  with  equal  success. 

The  only  error  into  which  the  farmer  can  run  is  to  supply 
such  an  inconsiderable  quantity  of  soil  as  will  be  incapable  of 
imbibing  the  elastic  and  volatile  particles,  and  thus  by  his  own 
mismanagement  occasion  a  waste  of  the  vegetable  aliment.  One 
cart  load  of  soil  to  two  of  stable  dung,  is  the  least  proportion 
which  he  should  ever  attempt  to  combine,  and  perhaps,  if  the 
two  were  mixed  in  equal  proportions,  he  would  be  compensated 
for  the  additional  labour  and  expense. 

Simple  earth,  although  excellent  for  bottoming  and  strewing 
over  the  pit  dung  near  the  barn,  is  of  all  materials  the  most 


MANURES.  31 

unprofitable  in  compost  hills.  A  matted  sward,  thickly  en- 
tangled with  roots,  or  mud,  dragged  from  the  bottom  of  bogs 
or  ditches,  and  replete  with  aquatic  plants,  are  clearly  prefer- 
able on  this  account,  that  besides  bringing  earth  to  the  compo- 
sition, they  supply  a  large  proportion  of  vegetable  matter. 

Whenever  the  soil  must  be  carted  to  the  heap,  it  is  better  to 
lay  out  the  expense  in  transporting  enriching  materials,  be- 
cause they  will  not  only  equally  absorb  and  retain  the  evapo- 
rating gases,  but  greatly  augment  the  quality  of  manure.* 

Pure  animal  matter,  by  undergoing  fermentation,  and  being 
mixed  with  vegetable  matter,  promotes  the  more  speedy  de- 
composition of  the  vegetable  fibre,  which,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, is  a  slowly  decomposing  substance.  When  vegetables 
are  green  and  full  of  juices,  they  readily  ferment;  but  when 
the  stems  are  dried,  as  in  the  case  of  straw  and  other  litter,  they 
decompose  slowly,  and  the  mixing  them  with  animal  matter 
hastens  the  putrefactive  fermentation.  This  mixing  of  animal 
with  vegetable  matter  is  the  process  employed  for  preparing 
the  greater  part  of  the  dung  of  the  farm-yard. 

Farm-yard  manure  must  ever  be  ranked  in  the  first  class, 
and  when  improved  yards  have  been  constructed  for  the  soiling 
of  cattle,  and  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  quality  as  well  as 
the  increase  of  their  dung,  the  manure  thus  produced  becomes 
of  inestimable  value.  No  husbandman  can  carry  on  his  busi- 
ness, successfully,  without  it.  The  manure  heap  has  not  been 
unaptly  described  as  the  farmer's  gold  mine. 

Every  farmer  who  attends  for  a  moment  to  the  diflSculty  of 
obtaining  a  sufficient  quantity  of  dung,  as  well  as  of  preparing 
what  is  got,  will  acknowledge  that  however  imperfectly  the 
subject  be  understood,  none  is  deserving  of  more  serious  con- 
sideration; yet  even  the  most  superficial  observer  on  the  com- 
mon state  of  culture  can  hardly  fail  to  remark,  that  the  evident 
inattention  to  its  management  is  such  as  would  almost  lead  to 
the  conclusion,  that  it  was  not  worth  the  pains  of  the  farmer's 
care. 

It  is  not  uncommon — indeed  nothing  is  more  common — in 
certain  parts  of  our  country,  to  see  large  heaps  of  manure 
thrown  out  from  the  stables  and  feeding  sheds,  and  exposed  in 
that  state  to  the  weather,  without  any  regard  to  its  being  laid 
up  in  a  regular  or  careful  manner,  secured  from  evaporation, 
or  carefully  mixed  in  different  proportions,  according  to  its 
various  qualities;  yet  these  proportions  are  each  of  a  very  dis- 
tinct and  important  nature. 

The  dung  of  the  farm-yard  is  a  collection  of  animal  and 

*  Letters  on  Agriculture,  by  John  Young,  Esq. 


32  MANURES. 

vegetable  substances.  It  consists  of  the  excrements  of  the  ani- 
mals kept  and  fed  upon  the  farm,  together  with  the  straw  or 
other  materials  used  as  litter,  and  generally  of  the  refuse  and 
offal  produced  about  the  homestead. 

This  mixed  mass  is  collected  during  the  process  of  feeding, 
when  it  undergoes  a  certain  degree  of  fermentation.  When 
trodden  down  by  the  feet  of  the  animals  kept  in  the  yards,  the 
effect  is  to  exclude  the  external  air,  and  to  prevent  the  fer- 
mentative process  from  that  rapidity  which  would  take  place 
were  the  mass  not  compressed.  The  principal  animal  sub- 
stances which  are  mixed  with  the  lignous  [woody]  fibre  of  the 
litter,  and  which  cause  it  to  undergo  decomposition,  are  the 
dung  and  urine  of  the  animals. 

The  properties  of  this  dung,  to  a  certain  extent,  depends 
upon  the  kind  of  animals  and  the  nature  of  their  food.  The 
dung  of  horses  is  easily  fermented,  and  is  more  readily  decom- 
posable, in  proportion  to  the  succulent  and  nutritive  qualities 
of  the  food  consumed.  The  dung  of  oxen  or  horned  cattle 
also  soon  ferments  when  it  is  collected  into  a  heap,  and  is  only 
moistened  by  its  own  humidity;  but  this  process  is  slower 
than  in  the  dung  of  horses,  because  it  is  not  so  much  exposed 
to  the  same  internal  heat,  in  consequence  of  which  its  evapo- 
ration is  less;  and  being  voided  in  a  very  moist  state,  it  does 
not  require  to  be  wetted. 

Sheep  dung  decomposes  quickly  when  it  is  moist  and  com- 
pactly heaped  together;  but  when  dry  and  dispersed,  its  de- 
composition is  slow  and  imperfect.  Its  effect  upon  the  soil  is 
soon  dissipated,  and  is  generally  exhausted  after  a  second  crop. 
It  is  rendered  more  particularly  valuable  upon  soils  which 
contain  insoluble  mould,  from  the  ammonia  [volatile  alkaW] 
which  is  disengaged  from  the  excrements,  and  more  especially 
from  the  urine  of  sheep. 

When  animals  are  fed  on  straw  and  the  dried  stems  and 
leaves  of  plants,  the  dung  is  less  rich  and  decomposable  than 
when  they  are  fed  on  roots  and  other  nourishing  food;  and 
the  same  thing  holds  with  respect  to  the  dung  of  the  hog  and 
other  animals.  The  dung  of  the  different  feeding  animals  is 
mixed  in  greater  or  less  proportion  with  their  litter;  and  the 
greater  the  proportion  of  the  animal  to  the  vegetable  matter, 
the  more  readily  will  the  latter  ferment  and  decompose. 

The  U7'ine  of  animals  is  in  itself  a  very  rich  manure,  and 
contains,  in  certain  states  of  combination,  all  the  elements 
which  enter  into  the  composition  of  plants.  It  is  necessarily 
mixed  with,  and  partly  absorbed  by,  the  litter  and  other  sub- 
stances in  the  yards,  and  it  hastens  in  a  material  degree  the 
fermentation  of  these  substances.     The  urine,  however,  is  apt 


MANURES.  33 

to  make  its  escape  by  flowing  out  of  the  yards  or  being  imper- 
fectly mingled  with  the  litter. 

It  becomes,  therefore,  a  part  of  the  management  of  the  farm- 
yard, to  provide  against  either  of  these  contingencies.  The 
farm-yard  should  be  level  at  bottom,  and  even  paved,  if  the 
sub-soil  be  very  loose  and  sandy.  Some  persons,  after  remov- 
ing the  surface  to  a  suitable  depth,  cover  the  whole  with  a 
thick  layer  of  tenacious  clay.  The  bottom  should  be  sunk 
somewhat  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  deepening  gradually 
to  the  centre.  A  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  their  proper 
structure  prevails.  A  very  intelligent  writer  in  the  Farmers' 
Cabinet,  I.  C***d,  Esq.,  of  Delaware  county,  says: 

There  is  no  branch  of  agriculture  so  much  entitled  to  the  consideration  of 
the  farmer  as  that  of  the  accumulation  and  preparation  of  the  food  of  vege- 
tables. All  are  aware  that  the  principal  source  of  vegetation  is  that  of  putres- 
cent matter;  consequently,  theii-  attention  is  naturally  directed  to  the  collection 
of  as  much  vegetable  and  animal  substances  as  possible.  Barn-yards  are 
appropriate  recipients  for  such  accumulation.  South  exposures  are  the  most 
desirable  locations.  The  direct  influence  of  the  sun  greatly  promotes  decom- 
position. The  bottoms  of  barn-yards  should  be  level,  and  so  enclosed  that 
the  extracts  from  the  manure  produced  by  rains,  should  be  retained  as  much 
as  possible.  The  bottom  of  the  3'ard  should  have  a  covering  of  loose  earth, 
of  some  inches,  which  is  designed  as  an  absorbent  to  retam  the  extractive 
matter,  and  to  be  removed  in  common  with  the  other  manures  when  employed 
for  agricultural  purposes.  The  covering  of  earth  should  always  be  renewed 
previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  re-accumulation  0'' putrescent  matter. 

When  the  stock  of  cattle  and  horses  are  to  be  finally  removed'from  the  barn- 
yard for  the  summer,  the  surface  of  the  putrescent  manure  should  be  covered 
■with  a  mixture  of  earth  and  hydrate  of  calcium.  The  effect  of  this  covering 
is  of  much  importance,  as  it  serves  to  retain  moisture,  and  to  promote  decom- 
position. The  hydrate  of  calcium  being  soluble,  a  portion  may  be  dissolved, 
and  descend  into  the  putrescent  matter;  there,  meeting  with  carbonic  acid,  it 
becomes  a  carbonate,  and  consequently  insoluble.  The  hydrate  of  calcium 
remaining  on  the  surface,  will  absorb  the  carbonic  acid  formed  by  the  putre- 
faction of  the  matter  underneath,  '■'it  will  also  obtain  a  considerable  quantity 
from  the  atmosphere,  thereby  treasuring  up  a  large  amount  of  the  food  of 
vegetables,  to  be  used  at  the  discretion  of  the  farmer,  that  would  otherwise 
have  been  lost.  Previous  to  removing  the  manure  from  the  barn-yard,  it 
should  be  well  mixed,  forming  an  excellent  compost  for  any  purpose  that  may 
be  desired. 

As  a  portion  of  the  liquid  will  flow  from  the  stables  and 
feeding-houses,  gutters  of  stone  should  be  made  to  conduct  it 
into  reservoirs  in  or  adjacent  to  the  yard:  and  similar  means 
should  be  adopted  for  conveying  from  the  yard  any  excess  of 
liquid;  not  for  the  purpose  of  draining  the  yard  of  moisture, 
which  would  be  exceedingly  wrong,  but  with  a  view  of  pre- 
venting an  excess  of  liquid  from  being  lost;  as  the  principal 
cause  which  produces  a  great  flow  of  liquid  from  the  yard,  is 
an  excess  of  rain,  which  falling  upon  the  heap  faster  than  it 
can  be  absorbed,  washes  away  the  urine. 

The  substances  thus  collected  and  partially  fermented,  is  to 
be  applied  to  the  ground  during  the  months  of  spring,  summer, 


34  MANURES. 

or  autumn,  immediately  following  the  winter  in  which  it  has 
been  prepared.  It  should  always  be  applied  as  soon  after  it 
has  been  prepared  as  possible,  their  being  a  waste  either  in 
retaining  it  too  long,  or  in  causing  it  to  undergo  a  greater  de- 
gree of  fermentation  than  is  required. 

Certain  kinds  of  plants  require  a  greater  action  of  manures  at  particular 
stages  of  their  growth  than  others.  Thus  the  beet,  turnip  and  carrot,  require 
that  the  manure  applied  shall  be  in  such  a  state  of  decomposition  as  to  act 
upon  and  nourish  them  in  the  first  stages  of  their  growth — otherwise  the  crop 
is  very  liable  to  fail.  In  these  and  similar  cases  according!}',  the  complete 
preparation  of  the  farm-yard  dung  is  an  essential  point  of  practice. 

Other  plants,  again,  do  not  require  the  same  state  of  decomposition  of  the 
dung.  The  potato  requires  less  in  the  first  stages  of  its  growth  than  the  tur- 
nip, and  hence  it  is  unnecessary  to  subject  the  manure  to  be  applied  to  the 
same  degree  of  fermentation. 

But  while  no  necessity  exists  for  fermenting  the  matter  of 
the  barn-yard  beyond  the  degree  requisite  for  the  special  pur- 
pose intended;  yet,  it  is  always  a  point  of  good  practice  to 
ferment  it  to  that  degree.  In  order  to  know  when  it  is  suffi- 
ciently fermented  for  the  particular  use  required,  a  very  little 
practice  and  observation  will  suffice  for  the  intelligent  farmer. 

When  fully  fennented,  the  long  stems  of  straws  which  for- 
merly matted  it  together,  are  in  such  a  state  of  decomposition, 
that  the  parts  can  be  readily  separated  by  a  fork.  Whenever 
farm-yard  dung  has  been  fermented  to  that  extreme  state  of 
decay  in  which  we  often  see  it  used  by  gardeners,  in  wliich  it 
can  be  cut  by  a  spade  like  soft  earth,  it  has  been  kept  beyond 
the  proper  time,  and  the  management  has  been  bad. 

In  some  cases  the  manure  is  mixed  with  the  soil  some  time 
before  the  seeds  of  the  plants  to  be  cultivated  are  sown.  In 
this  case  the  manure  undergoes  tbe  necessary  fermentation  in 
the  soil  itself,  and  does  not  require  that  previous  preparation 
which,  in  the  case  of  the  turnip  and  some  other  plants,  is  indis- 
pensable. 

When  the  mass  of  vegetable  and  animal  substances  is  thrown  into  a  com- 
mon yard,  care  should  be  taken  to  spread  it  evenly  or  equally,  so  that  one  part 
may  not  be  filled  with  rich  and  another  with  poor  dung.  The  dung  of  horses 
more  quickly  ferments  than  that  of  oxen;  therefore  horse-dung  should  not  be 
allowed  to  accumulate  in  a  mass,  but  spread  abroad  upon  the  general  heap. 

Farm-yard  dung  is  generally  applied  to  the  soil  when  in  a  state  of  tillage, 
by  being  spread  upon  the  land  and  covered  Avith  the  plough.  Being  thus  co- 
vered by  the  earth,  it  readily  passes  through  its  course  of  fermentation,  becomes 
decomposed,  and  is  mixed  with  the  matter  of  the  soil. 

This  valuable  substance  must  be  economized  in  the  manner  of  applying  it. 
The  soil  must  be  kept  as  rich  as  tbe  means  at  the  farmer's  command  will  jus- 
tity;  but  it  is  a  grand  error  in  practice  to  saturate  it  at  one  time  with  manures, 
and  to  withhold  them  at  another.  They  ought  to  be  applied  m  limited  quantity 
and  frequently,  so  as  to  maintain  a  uniform  or  increasing  fertility  in  the  soil. 

The  produce  of  the  farm-yard,  will  necessarily  afford  the 

chief  part  of  the  manure  consutned  upon  farms  which  do  not 

possess  extraneous  sources  of  supply.     But  besides  tbe  imme- 


MANURES.  35 

diate  produce  of  the  farm-yard,  there  are  certain  vegetable  and 
animal  substances,  which,  in  the  separate  states,  may  be  applied 
to  the  manuring  of  land. 

An  example  of  the  application  of  vegetable  substances  in  this 
state,  is  when  certain  plants  are  allowed  to  come  into  flower, 
and  are  then  ploughed  down  in  their  green  state,  and  mixed 
with  the  matter  of  the  soil.  This  practice,  derived  from  very 
ancient  times,  prevails  extensively  in  Europe,  and  has  been 
beneficially  adopted  in  some  sections  of  our  country. 

Where  green  dressings  are  resorted  to,  as  a  manure,  such 
growths  should  be  selected  for  the  purpose  as  are  cheap  in  the 
article  of  seed,  and  at  the  same  time  quick,  vigorous  and  bulky. 
Buckwheat  is  much  used  for  this  purpose;  other  plants  of  rapid 
growth  and  great  yield,  would  probably  answer  as  good  if  not 
a  better  purpose.  Clover,  at  the  suggestion  of  speculative 
writers,  has  been  thus  employed,  whereby  an  error  has  been 
frequently  committed  of  using  a  valuable  article  as  manure, 
Avhich  might  have  been  employed  in  the  first  place  in  supply- 
ing the  animals  of  the  farm. 

When  this  practice  is  adopted,  the  period  at  which  the 
plants  may  be  ploughed  down  is  when  they  have  come  into 
flower,  for  then  they  contain  the  largest  quantity  of  readily 
soluble  matter,  and  have  least  exhausted  the  nutrient  sub- 
stance of  the  soil.  In  order  that  the  growth  be  turned  effectu- 
ally under,  it  should  be  laid  prostrate  by  running  the  roller 
over  it,  in  the  direction  in  which  the  plough  is  to  follow. 

There  are  instances  in  which  green  dressings  are  advisable, 
particularly  if  they  do  not  prevent  the  growth  of  an  interven- 
ing crop.  Where  this  is  not  practicable,  we  should  hardly 
advise  to  this  method  of  manuring,  unless  in  cases  where 
other  manures  cannot  readily  be  obtained. 

A  green  dressing  may  be  given  with  great  advantage,  for 
instance,  where  a  crop  of  rye,  oals,  or  barley  has  been  har- 
vested, and  the  ground  cleared  by  the  twentieth  of  July.  In 
this  case,  let  the  stubble  be  immediately  turned  under,  and  the 
ground  harrowed  in  with  buckwheat,  sown  thickly.  By  the 
twentieth  of  September  this, growth  would  probably  be  fit  to 
be  turned  under,  when  a  crop  of  wheat  might  be  sown  on  the 
lay. 

Weeds,  in  general,  are  likewise  of  great  service,  if  they  be 
cut  down  in  their  most  succulent  state,  shortly  before  they 
flower;  as  they  are  then  not  only  most  disposed  to  putrescence, 
but  also  the  injury  which  would  otherwise  result  from  the  per- 
fection of  their  seeds  will  thus  be  efiectually  avoided. 

Hence  weeds  ought  not,  as  is  too  frequently  the  practice,  to 
be  heedlessly  burnt  or  thrown  into  the  highway;  but  if  they 


36  MANURES. 

be  laid  in  heaps,  in  their  juicy  state,  and  occasionally  turned 
over  and  covered  with  soil,  they  will  certainly  perish,  and 
speedily  become  putrid. 

The  leaves  of  trees  also  form  a  vegetable  manure,  though 
not  a  very  good  one;  for  although  leaves  enrich,  to  a  certain 
degree,  the  surface  upon  which  they  fall  and  decay,  they  will 
rarely  repay  the  expenses  of  collecting  them  expressly  for 
manuring  land.  But  where  they  can  be  readily  collected  in 
quantity,  they  make  an  excellent  addition  to  the  vegetable 
matter  of  tlie  barn-yard  and  the  pig-sty. 

The  other  principal  vegetable  substances  employed  as  manure 
in  their  separate  state  are  the  following: 

The  ashes  of  ivood  and  all  vegetables  may  be  used  as  a 
manure.  They  have  a  marked  and  very  beneficial  effect  when 
applied  as  a  top  d7'essing,  especially  to  grass  lands;  they  also 
ansv/er  a  most  valuable  purpose  when  applied  to  Indian  corn, 
particularly  when  the  soil  is  not  suitable  to  that  plant. 

In  all  new  countries,  such  is  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the 
abundance  of  native  salts  and  vegetable  matter  furnished  through 
a  long  course  of  growth  and  decay,  that  the  first  series  of  cul- 
tivators find  little  use  for  the  manures,  and  the  expedients  for 
meliorating  the  soil,  which  are  so  necessary  in  the  older  culti- 
vated countries.  Hence,  materials  which  are  considered  in- 
valuable for  these  purposes  in  the  states  on  our  seaboard,  from 
Maine  to  Louisiana,  and  in  Europe,  and  other  countries,  arc, 
in  our  new  settlements,  considered  as  a  nuisance,  and  wasted 
in  immense  quantities.* 

One  of  the  most  prominent  articles  used  in  manure  along 
the  seaboard,  and  sought  after  with  an  avidity  that  shows  its 
real  value  in  meliorating  the  soil,  is  leached  ashes,  a  substance 
which  appears  to  have  received  no  attention  from  the  farmers 
of  the  interior,  except  it  was  to  devise  some  easy  method  of 
disposing  of  the  quantities  so  rapidly  accumulating  around  their 
leach-tubs  and  asheries.  ISlillions  of  bushels — we  might  almost 
say  loads — of  this  valuable  material  are  annually  wasted. 

There  is  scarcely  a  process  in  farming,  or  an  article  used  for 
substantially  improving  the  soil,  for  which  more  decisive  tes- 
timony can  be  found,  than  may  be  adduced  in  favour  of  ashes 
as  a  manure. 

Under  the  head  oi  stimulating  manures,  Chaptal,  in  his 
justly  celebrated  work  on  agriculture,  makes  these  rem.arks: 

*  From  forty-five  to  seventy  j'ears  back,  the  great  difficult}^  with  many  far- 
mers, residing  in  this  state  east  of  the  Susquehanna,  was  howto  get  rid  of  their 
stable  manure.  Many  who  had  fixed  barns,  carted  the  manure  early  in  spring 
to  the  nearest  creek  to  be  carried  off  by  the  succeeding  freshet,  while  thousands 
of  stacks  were  suffered  to  waste.  The  descendants  of  these  farmers  now  know 
the  value  and  importance  of  that  which  their  forefathers  discarded. 


MANURES.  37 

"The  ashes  produced  by  the  combustion  of  wood  in  our  com- 
mon domestic  fires,  give  rise  to  some  very  remarkable  results. 
Without  being  leached,  these  ashes  are  much  too  active;  but 
after  having  been  deprived,  by  the  action  of  water,  of  nearly 
all  their  salts,  and  employed  in  this  state,  under  the  name  of 
buck-ashes,  [leached,]  they  still  produce  great  effect. 

The  action  of  the  buck-ashes  is  most  powerful  upon  moist  lands  and  mea- 
dows, in  which  they  not  only  facilitate  the  growth  of  useful  plants,  but  if  em- 
ployed constantly  for  several  years,  they  will  free  the  soil  from  weeds.  By  the 
use  of  them,  land  constantly  drenched  with  water  may  be  freed  from  rushes, 
and  prepared  for  yielding  clover  and  other  plants  of  good  kinds. — Chaptal. 

It  has  been  frequently  supposed  that  ashes  applied  to  wet 
heavy  soils  is  injurious.  This  is  probably  owing  to  the  appli- 
cation being  too  uneven,  artd  in  too  large  quantities,  and  to  the 
want  of  mixing  them  intimately  with  the  soil.  When  applied 
to  ivei  lands  the  ashes  are  immediately  dissolved,  and  it  may 
be  that  the  plants  cannot  take  up  the  active  properties  with 
sufficient  rapidity,  and  it  therefore,  in  many  instances,  passes  off 
in  its  dissolved  state  into  the  sub-soil;  but  how  this  should  oc- 
casion moss  and  barrenness  is  beyond  our  comprehension. 
The  author  just  quoted  says,  "Wood-ashes  possess  the  double 
property  of  amending  a  wet  and  clayey  soil  by  dividing  and 
drying  it,  and  of  promoting  vegetation  by  the  salts  they  con- 
tain." It  is  also  found  to  succeed  well  on  dry  loamy  lands,  or 
loam  mixed  with  sand. 

It  is  well  known,  that  the  evenly  spread  and  intimately  in- 
termixed layer  of  ashes  which  soils  receive  by  burning  the  turf, 
produce  extraordinary  fertilizing  effects  upon  grass  lands — 
effects  which  are  visible  for  years. 

One  principal  reason  why  leached  ashes  is  so  valuable  as  a 
manure,  appears  to  have  been  mostly  overlooked,  and  that  is 
the  quantity  of  lime  they  contain,  which  substance  is  placed  in 
considerable  quantities  at  the  bottom  of  the  vats  or  leaches  in 
all  asheries,  to  facilitate  the  labour  of  working,  and  is  thrown 
out  with  the  ashes. 

This  fact,  taken  in  connection  with  the  one  that  a  large  por- 
tion of  alkaline  matter  must  remain  in  all  ashes  after  leaching, 
accounts  for  the  benefit  they  render  to  wet  sour  soils,  by  neu- 
tralizing such  acid,  and  promoting  the  decomposition  of  vegeta- 
ble matter,  which,  in  such  earths,  always  proceeds  slowly, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  prevent  adhesion  in  the  soil,  and 
enable  the  roots  of  plants  to  seek  their  sustenance  freely.  On 
light  sandy  soils  they  give  consistency,  and  by  the  existing 
action  of  their  still  abundant  salts  effectually  promote  vegeta- 
tion. 

Feat-ashes,  properly  burnt,  afford  an  excellent  manure  for 
4 


38  MANURES. 

both  corn  and  grass  lands;  but  the  most  valuable  are  those  ob- 
tained from  the  lowest  stratum  of  the  material,  where  the  fibres 
and  roots  are  thickly  set  and  mostly  decayed.  This  yields  a 
large  quantity  of  very  strong  ashes. 

Sea-weed  is  another  vegetable  manure  that  may  be  used  with 
the  greatest  profit,  where  the  situation  of  the  farmer  gives  hirn 
access  to  this  material.  The  best  mode  of  applying  sea-weeds 
is  to  cut  them  in  their  most  succulent  state,  and  immediately 
plough  them  in. 

River  or  pond-weeds  are  capable  of  a  similar  application, 
and  with  great  benefit,  on  loose  sandy  soils  intended  for  beets, 
turnips,  &:c.;  though  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  such  weeds  have 
no  efiect  whatever  on  wet  springy  lands,  or  on  those  which  are 
liable  to  be  inundated.  The  proportion  is  twelve  qr  fourteen 
cart  loads  to  the  acre. 

Rape  or  cole-seed  cake,  reduced  to  a  coarse  powder,  (in  ex- 
tracting the  rape-seed  oil,)  is  used  with  great  success  as  a  ma- 
nure in  England,  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  It  contains 
a  large  quantity  of  mucilage,  some  albuminous  matter,  and  a 
small  quantity  of  oil.  The  manure  should  be  recent,  and  kept 
as  dry  as  possible  before  it  is  applied.  It  forms  an  excellent 
dressing  for  turnip  crops,  and  is  most  economically  applied  by 
depositing  it  in  the  soil  at  the  same  time  with  the  seed.  It  is 
highly  esteemed  as  a  top  dressing  for  grass  lands.  It  is  also 
employed  in  England  for  the  feeding  and  fattening  of  animals, 
for  which  purpose  it  is  very  highly  esteemed. 

Malt-dust,  or  the  refuse  which  is  screened  from  malt  in 
drying,  afibrds,  on  account  of  its  saccharine  matters,  an  excel- 
lent vegetable  manure  for  grass  lands,  in  the  proportion  of  from 
forty  to  sixty  bushels  to  the  acre.  It  is  best  calculated  for  cold 
clays,  or  stiff  loamy  soils,  but  not  those  inclined  to  gravel.  It 
should  be  applied  as  dry  as  possible,  and  all  fermentation  pre- 
vented. 

The  seeds  of  the  cotton-plant  have  been,  recently,  in  some 
portions  of  the  southern  states,  applied  to  the  manuring  of  land, 
and  found  to  be  among  the  most  fertilizing  of  this  class  of  sub- 
stances. 

Linseed-cake,  though  an  excellent  article,  is  too  valuable  as 
a  food  for  cattle  to  be  much  employed  as  a  manure.  The  water 
in  which  ^aa:  and  hemp  are  steeped  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing the  pure  vegetable  fibre,  has  considerable  fertilizing  powers. 
It  contains  much  vegetable  extractive  matter,  and  putrefies 
readily;  it  should  be  applied  as  soon  as  the  vegetable  fibre  is 
removed. 

Of  excrementitious  animal  matter,  applied  in  its  unmixed 
state,  one  of  the  most  useful  is  night-soil,  a  substance  which  is 


MANURES.  39 

very  liable  to  decompose;  and  whether  recently  or  fermfented, 
supplies  abundantly  the  food  of  plants.  In  France,  Belgium, 
Holland  and  England,  the  attention  paid  to  it  as  a  manure,  is 
very  great,  and  it  is  employed  in  different  states  of  fermenta- 
tion, according  to  the  crops  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied. 

The  disagreeable  odour  of  this  substance  may  be  destroyed 
by  mixing  it  with  quick-lime.  When  it  is  exposed  to  the  at- 
mosphere, and  the  layers  are  strewed  over  with  lime,  it  soon 
dries,  and  is  easily  pulverized.  It  then  forms  one  of  that  valu- 
able class  of  manures  which  may  be  deposited  in  the  ground  at 
the  same  time  with  the  seed. 

A  company  has  been  lately  organized  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting,  drying,  pulverizing  and 
preparing  night-soil,  according  to  the  most  approved  method 
adopted  in  France  and  the  Netherlands.  It  is  called  Poudrette, 
is  packed  in  casks,  and  may  easily  be  transported  to  any  part  of 
our  country.  Throughout  the  vast  empire  of  China,  night-soil, 
made  into  cakes  and  dried  by  exposure  to  the  sun,  forms  a 
common  article  of  commerce. 

The  dung  of  birds  is  a  powerful  manure,  though  usually  ob- 
tained in  quantities  too  small  to  render  it  an  object  of  mucli 
importance.  The  most  generally  employed  is  that  of  pigeons 
and  domestic  fowls.  It  should  be  spread  upon  the  surface  of 
land  in  tillage,  and  slightly  covered.  It  may  be  reduced  also 
to  powder,  and  applied  in  different  ways. 

The  flesh  and  intestines  of  animals  are  sometimes  used  as 
manures.  When  in  contact  with  the  air,  these  substances  un- 
dergo a  very  rapid  decomposition,  and  should  therefore  be 
covered  by  the  soil  before  their  particles  have  been  lost  by 
evaporation;  or  they  may  be  mixed  with  earthy  substances 
and  formed  into  a  compost.  This  last  is  generally  the  prefer- 
able practice  with  regard  to  them,  because  they  thus  act  in  fer- 
tilizing a  large  quantity  of  matter  with  which  they  are  mixed. 

The  collections  of  the  slaughter-house,  and  the  refuse  of  the 
shambles,  furnish  the  largest  supply  of  this  kind  of  manure,  and 
it  is  always  highly  valuable  where  it  can  be  obtained.  When 
animals  die  from  accident  or  disease,  they  should  never  be  left 
exposed,  but  be  covered  with  earth,  which  will  be  soon  impreg- 
nated with  soluble  matters.  [See  page  29].  The  disagreeable 
effluvia  of  such  substances  may  be  lessened,  if  not  entirely  re- 
moved, by  a  mixture  of  quick-lime. 

Fish  forms  a  very  powerful  manure,  in  whatever  state  it  is 
applied;  but  it  cannot  be  ploughed  in  too  fresh,  though  the 
quantity  should  be  limited.  It  is  generally  best  to  mix  it  with 
earth  in  the  form  of  a  compost,  to  prevent  raising  a  too  luxu- 
riant crop,  as  instances  have  occurred  in  which  herrings  spread 


40  MANURES. 

over'a  field  and  ploughed  in  for  wheat,  have  produced  so  rank 
a  crop,  that  it  was  entirely  laid  before  harvest. 

It  is  easy  to  explain  the  operation  of  fish  as  a  manure.  The 
skin  is  principally-^elatine,  which,  from  its  slight  state  of  co- 
hesion, is  readily  soluhle  in  water;  fat  oil  is  always  found  in 
fishes,  either  under  the  skin  or  in  some  of  the  viscera;  and 
their  fibrous  matter  contains  all  the  essential  elements  of  vege- 
table substances.     Its  effects  are  visible  for  several  years. 

Among  oily  substances,  blubber  has  been  employed  very 
beneficially  as  a  manure.  It  is  most  useful  when  mixed  with 
clay,  sand,  or  any  common  soil,  so  as  to  expose  a  large  surface 
to  the  air,  the  oxygen  [vital  air]  of  which  produces  soluble 
matter  from  it.  The  best  way  is  to  form  it  into  a  compost,  a 
layer  of  earth  and  then  of  blubber,  and  so  on.  It  should  be  well 
stirred  three  or  four  times,  at  different  intervals,  and  not  used 
under  nine  or  twelve  months. 

The  refuse  of  various  manufactures  in  which  skin,  wool  and 
other  animal  substances  are  used,  forms  manure  of  various 
quality,  according  to  the  substances  employed  and  the  nature 
of  the  manufacture — such  are  the  refuse  of  the  currier,  the 
offal  of  the  glue-maker,  and  various  others  of  similar  cha- 
racter. 

Bones  are  regarded  as  a  very  important  animal  manure.  In 
the  hands  of  intelligent  agriculturists  they  are  a  powerful  agent 
in  fertilizing  the  soil.  Those  which  are  most  usually  employed 
contain  nearly  equal  quantities  of  phosphate  [salt  formed 
by  a  combination  of  phosphoric  acid,  with  a  base  of  earth, 
alkali,  or  metal,]  and  gelatine,  [an  animal  substance  soluble  in 
water,]  of  which  they  are  principally  composed. 

Bones,  it  is  well  ascertained,  contain,  in  an  abundant  form, 
the  food  of  plants.  They  are  made  up  of  a  large  amount  of 
animal  substance  mixed  with  earthy  and  saline  matter — and 
they  abound  in  what  chemists  call  the  phosphate  of  lime,  a  sub- 
stance, which,  as  we  have  before  observed,  is  found  in  some 
measure  in  all  plants,  and  a  powerful  means  and  instrument  of 
vegetable  growth.* 

Bones  have  been  used  as  a  manure  for  many  years  in  Eu- 
rope, with  the  greatest  advantage;  and  they  are  now  sought 
after,  by  intelligent  farmers  in  the  United  States,  with  the 
greatest  avidity.  At  first,  after  being  broken  down  and  boiled 
for  grease,  they  were  sold  to  the  farmer;  but  since  their  more 
general  extension  as  a  manure,  they  are  applied  in  their  raw 
state.  They  form  in  the  old  countries  a  very  considerable 
article  of  commerce. 

*  Rev.  Henry  Colman,  Massachusetts. 


MANURES.  4X 

The  bones  are  ground,  or  rather  they  are  crushed,  and  re- 
duced to  a  coarse  powder,  by  being  passed  through  cylinders 
of  a  peculiar  construction.  Plaster  mills  are  used  by  some  in 
this  country.  The  most  preferable  form  in  which  they  can 
be  used  is  in  that  of  a  coarse  powder.  It  is,  however,  the 
opinion  of  many,  that  they  are  superior  as  a  manure  when 
they  have  undergone  a  previous  fermentation,  which  is  easily 
effected  by  placing  them  in  a  mass  by  themselves,  as  they  will 
speedily  ferment.  They  may  be  also  formed  into  composts 
with  earths,  and  thus  allowed  to  ferment  in  the  heap.  We, 
however,  decidedly  prefer  its  application  in  the  form  of  powder. 

They  may  be  applied  in  several  ways  to  the  ground.  They 
may  be  spread  upon  it  by  hand,  or  by  machines  constructed 
for  the  purpose,  or  by  apparatus  attached  to  certain  sowing 
machines;  when  deposited  at  the  same  time  with  the  seeds,  if 
by  the  drill,  the  quantity  may  be  two  quarts  per  acre. 

Bones  constitute  a  very  efficient  and  a  comparatively  cheap 
manure.  Stable  manure,  in  Boston  or  Philadelphia,  costs  the 
farmer  in  its  first  purchase,  its  transportation,  and  preparation 
for  the  land  not  far  from  five  dollars  per  cord.  His  land  may 
be  manured  with  bone  manure  with  equal  advantage,  and  for  a 
third  of  the  expense  of  stable  manure;  and  its  actual  improve- 
ment to  the  soil  will  be  more  permanent.* 

The  lightness  of  carriage,  its  suitableness  for  the  drill,  and 
its  general  fertilizing  properties,  render  it  peculiarly  valuable. 
The  use  of  bones  diminishes  labour  at  a  season  of  the  year  when 
time  is  of  the  first  importance,  for  one  wagon  load  of  drill  bone- 
dust  is  equal  to  forty  or  fifty  loads  of  fold  manure. 

In  England,  bone  manure  is  generally  applied  to  the  turnip 
crop,  that  crop  commonly  preceding  wheat.  The  effect  is  very 
great,  causing  lands  which  had  been  comparatively  barren,  to 
produce  a  crop,  and  not  only  pushing  the  crop  several  days  in 
advance  of  that  manured  with  stable  manure,  but  also  greatly 
increasing  the  product. 

They  have  been  used  with  signal  advantage  spread  upon 
grass  land;  the  feed  being  greatly  improved,  and  the  return 
from  the  stock  fed  upon  it,  in  milk  and  butter  through  the 
season,  very  much  increased. t  The  Farmer's  Cabinet,  vol.  iii. 
p.  17,  contains  a  very  interesting  communication  from  Samuel 
W.  Smith,  on  the  superiority  of  bone  manure,  over  all  others, 
in  the  culture  of  the  turnip.  The  experiment  is  detailed  with 
a  good  deal  of  precision.     See  Appendix  B. 

Its  effects  upon  the  production  of  wheat  in  Great  Britain 
have  been  thus  stated,  after  careful  observation,  compared  with 

*  Rev.  Henry  Colman,  Massachusetts.       t  Ibid. 
4* 


42  MANURES. 

the  best  stable  manure.  In  respect  to  the  quality  of  the  grain, 
as  seven  to  five.  In  respect  to  the  quantity,  as  five  to  four.  In 
respect  to  the  durability  of  its  effects  on  the  soil,  as  three  to 
two.  But  no  account  is  here  made  of  the  difference  of  the  cost 
of  the  two  applications — the  lightness  of  transportation  of  the 
bone  manure,  and  the  ease  of  applying  it  to  the  soil. 

Bones  are  less  beneficial  when  applied  to  clay  lands  than  to 
lighter  soils,  and  in  wet  seasons  than  in  dry.  Although  the 
quantity  of  the  material  employed  is  very  small,  it  is  not  quickly 
exhausted,  but  extends  its  influence  to  future  seasons.  For  the 
production  of  a  single  crop,  an  increase  beyond  a  certain  quan- 
tity is  notfound  to  be  attended  with  any  benefit;  so  thata small 
quantity  is  frequently  seen  to  be  applied  with  equal  advantage 
as  a  large. 

Horn  is  a  substance  of  similar  properties,  and  equally  eflfi- 
cient  as  a  manure:  but  it  is  obtained  in  very  limited  quantity, 
and  its  general  importance  is  therefore  greatly  inferior  to  that 
of  bones.  Yet,  in  large  cities  and  towns,  it  is  not  unfrequently 
the  case  that  comb-makers'  shavings  and  offal  may  be  collected 
in  considerable  quantities. 

Hair  and  feathers  are  similar  in  their  composition  to  horn, 
but,  like  it,  are  of  little  importance,  from  the  limited  quantity 
in  which  they  can  be  obtained.  They  are  also  slowly  decom- 
posable; and  of  that  class  of  manures  which  may  be  applied  to 
trees,  which  require  a  slow  and  not  a  rapid  action. 

Woollen  substances  are  also  of  the  same  chemical  composi- 
tion as  those  last  mentioned.  They  only  becom.e  soluble,  how- 
ever, after  a  considerable  time.  Nevertheless  woollen  rags 
form  a  good  and  lasting  manure.  They  are  to  be  cut  into 
small  pieces,  spread  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  then 
covered.  They  are  used  in  the  extensive  hop  districts  of 
England,  for  the  manuring  of  that  plant. 


II.    MINERAL  MANURES. 

According  to  Professor  Low,  the  mineral  substances  which 
are  employed  as  manures  may  be  supposed  to  exert  two 
modes  of  action.  First,  they  may  act  upon  the  soil  by  im- 
proving its  texture,  or  by  rendering  soluble  the  parts  of  it 
which  are  insoluble;  or  by  otherwise  fitting  it  to  promote  the 
growth  of  plants.  Secondly,  they  may  act  immediately  upon 
the  plant  itself,  by  being  received  into  its  substance. 

"We  cannot  generally  distinguish  when  a  mineral  substance 
acts  upon  the  plant,  through  the  medium  of  a  change  in  the  soil, 


MANURES.  43 

or  where  it  acts  directly  upon  the  plant  itself.  All  that  we 
truly  know  is,  that  certain  earthy  and  alkaline  bodies,  or  their 
saline  combinations,  applied  to  the  soil,  promote  the  growth  of 
plants,  and  so,  in  the  language  of  farmers,  are  manures." 

Of  all  the  mineral  substances  known  to  us,  Lime  is  that 
which  performs  the  most  important  part  in  improving  the  soil, 
and  promoting  the  growth  of  vegetables.  It  is  found  in  nearly 
all  soils  that  are  capable  of  sustaining  vegetation;  and,  in  com- 
bination with  different  acids,  in  a  vast  variety  of  vegetable  sub- 
stances. 

Limestone,  from  whatever  series  of  rocks  derived,  when 
submitted  to  the  action  of  heat  loses  the  carbonic  acid*  with 
which  it  was  united,  becomes  a  substance  of  an  acrid  nature, 
absorbs  water  with  an  evolution  of  heat,  and  by  this  union 
forms  what  is  termed  a  hydrate.  In  absorbing  water  it  crum- 
bles down  by  degrees,  while  at  the  same  time  it  begins  to  im- 
bibe carbonic  acid  from  the  atmosphere. 

In  absorbing  carbonic  acid,  the  water  of  the  hydrate  is  ex- 
pelled, the  carbonic  acid  taking  its  place.  In  this  way  the  lime 
recovers  the  principles  which  it  had  lost  by  the  action  of  heat. 
It  becomes  again  a  carbonate,  without  resuming  its  former 
hardness  and  external  characters.  In  proportion  as  its  recom- 
position  takes  place,  it  loses  the  properties  which  it  had  ac- 
quired by  calcination,  [fire,]  ceases  to  be  acrid  and  caustic,  and 
its  solubility  in  water  is  diminished. 

Lime  is  applied  to  the  soil  either  in  a  state  of  hydrate,  that 
is,  immediately  after  being  slacked,  and  when  it  still  retains  its 
caustic  qualities,  or  in  the  state  of  carbonate,  that  is,  after  it 
has  again  absorbed  carbonic  acid  from  the  surrounding  atmo- 
sphere and  become  mild. 

Caustic  lime  performs  two  functions  apparently  opposed  to 
each  other.  While  it  dissolves  vegetable  fibre  and  renders  it 
soluble,  it  possesses  also  the  property  of  forming  compounds 
of  a  soapy  nature,  with  the  soluble  portion  of  vegetable  and 
animal  substances,  which  compounds  are  not  dissolved  till  after 
a  very  considerable  time.  Lime  forms  these  insoluble  com- 
pounds with  almost  all  the  soft  animal  or  vegetable  substances 
with  which  it  can  combine. 

It  has  been  ascertained  from  a  series  of  experiments  care- 
fully made  in  England,  by  Bishop  Watson,  and  it  is  believed 
they  will  apply  equally  well  in  this  country,  that  upon  an 
average  of  every  ton  of  22^10  pounds,  good  limestone  produced 
1292  pounds  of  quick-lime,  weighed  before  it  was  cold;  and 

*  Carbonic  acid  is  a  combination  of  carbon  and  oxygen.  It  was  formerly 
called  fixed  air,  on  account  of  its  being  so  intimately  combined  in  chalk,  lime- 
stone, magnesia,  &c. 


44  MANURES. 

that  when  exposed  to  the  air  it  increased  in  weight  daily,  at 
the  rate  of  a  hundred  weight  per  ton,  for  the  first  five  or  six 
days  after  it  was  drawn  from  the  kihi. 

A  ton  of  fresh  well  burnt  lime  will  absorb  680  pounds,  or 
nearly  one-third  of  its  weight  of  water,  without  being  slacked 
— and  a  bushel  of  good  stone-lime,  when  slacked,  will  measure 
two  bushels;  hence  slacked  lime  should  sell  at  one-half  the 
price  per  bushel  of  stone-lime. 

Quick-lime  applied  to  succulent  vegetables  absorbs  the  mois- 
ture from  them,  and  renders  them  perfectly  dry  and  brittle, 
and  if  the  quantity  of  lime  be  great  compared  with  the  vegeta- 
ble matter,  combustion  takes  place,  and  the  matters  acted  on 
are  reduced  to  ashes,  but  are  not  decomposed  in  the  usual  un- 
derstanding of  the  term. 

Lime,  spread  on  the  surface  sod,  is  in  some  measure  pre- 
vented by  the  grass  and  the  fibres  of  the  roots  from  descending 
into  the  earth,  and  the  rains  from  time  to  time  dissolve  it,  and 
carry  down  the  alkaline  solution,  so  as  to  completely  moisten 
every  particle  of  the  soil  with  it. 

This  neutralizes  the  acidity  of  the  soil,  and  the  carbonic  acid 
gas  of  the  atmosphere  converts  the  solution  into  carbonate  of 
lime  in  connection  with  every  particle  of  earth  it  comes  in  con- 
tact with,  and  this  being  much  less  adhesive  than  clay,  when 
it  comes  to  be  ploughed,  the  particles  easily  separate,  and  hence 
the  property  of  lime  in  rendering  the  soil  less  adhesive,  and 
more  easily  penetrated  by  the  roots  of  plants  in  search  of  food. 

Where  much  vegetable  matter  abounds  in  a  soil,  it  will  ab- 
sorb and  retain  the  solution  of  lime  as  a  sponge,  which  being 
converted  in  its  interstices  into  a  carbonate,  will  tend  to  im- 
pede its  too  speedy  decomposition;  as  vegetable  matter  in  our 
climate  decomposes  with  too  much  rapidity  for  plants  to  take 
up  the  nutriment  it  affords  as  rapidly  as  it  is  produced. 

By  the  decomposition,  however,  being  impeded  or  checked 
by  the  carbonate  of  lime,  it  proceeds  more  slowly,  and  proceeds 
to  give  out  food  for  plants  more  gradually,  and  for  a  much 
longer  period  of  time.  This  appears  to  confirm  the  observa- 
tions of  many  of  our  farmers,  that  where  lime  is  used  the  ma- 
nure or  dung  continues  to  produce  its  efiects  for  an  unusual 
period.* 

The  application  of  lime  to  night-soil  does  not  hasten  the  de- 
composition of  this  substance,  [see  page  39],  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, forms  with  it  a  less  soluble  compound.  It  moderates 
its  action,  and  renders  its  effects  less  sudden,  but  more  perma- 

*  This  is  the  opinion  of  some  of  our  best  farmers — and  the  opinions  ad- 
vanced in  the  five  preceding  paragraphs  are  ably  defended  by  an  intelligent 
writer  in  the  third  volume  of  the  Farmers'  Cabinet,  pages  27,  60,  152. 


MANURES.  45 

nent  Mixed,  too,  with  any  pure  animal  substance,  lime  does 
not  waste  it,  as  reasoning  from  its  action  on  vegetable  fibre,  we 
might  infer.  It  facilitates  decomposition,  it  is  true,  but  then 
it  forms  with  the  substance  decomposed,  compounds  less  easily 
decomposable. 

The  application  of  lime  calls  into  powerful  action  the  nutri- 
tient  principles  of  the  soil — and  hence,  if  land  be  severely 
cropped  after  lime  has  been  used,  it  is  reduced  to  a  greater 
state  of  sterility  than  if  the  stimulant  had  not  been  applied. 
Lime,  therefore,  calculated  as  it  is  to  produce  the  best  effects 
in  fertilizing  a  soil,  is  frequently  made  the  means,  in  the  hands 
of  an  injudicious  farmer,  to  injure  it. 

This  is  especially  observable  in  the  case  of  light  soils  of  an 
inferior  kind.  These  are  frequently  so  injured,  by  injudicious 
cropping  after  the  application  of  lime,  that  they  are  reduced  to 
complete  barrenness.  When  soils  are  brought  to  this  condition 
by  scourging  or  exhausting  crops,  they  cannot  be  restored  to 
fertility  by  a  subsequent  application  of  lime;  on  the  contrary, 
a  future  dose  almost  invariably  renders  them  more  barren  than 
before.  The  only  efficient  remedy  is  a  generous  application 
of  vegetable  and  animal  manures — and  rest  in  grass. 

But  although  the  stimulating  properties  of  lime  may  be 
abused,  it  is  an  instrument  of  production  of  the  highest  im- 
portance in  the  hands  of  the  skilful  and  intelligent  farmer. 
On  land  improved  and  cultivated  for  the  first  time,  it  exercises 
a  very  powerful  influence,  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how, 
in  many  parts,  such  land  could  be  improved  at  all  without  the 
assistance  of  this  mineral. 

Whenever  it  is  deemed  expedient  to  deepen  a  soil  by  plough- 
ing up  and  bringing  to  the  surface  a  portion  of  the  sub-soil,  the 
application  of  lime  is  not  only  the  most  speedy,  but  also  the 
most  effectual  means  of  correcting  the  defects,  or  stimulating 
the  productive  powers  of  the  new  substance  exposed.  But  in  ' 
all  cases,  to  admit  of  the  beneficial  action  of  lime,  the  soil  should 
be  freed  of  superfluous  water.  Not  lime  only,  but  all  ma- 
nures, are  comparatively  inefficient  when  the  land  is  saturated 
in  consequence  of  excess  of  wetness. 

A  mixture  of  lime  with  earthy  matter,  previous  to  its  being 
applied  to  the  soil,  is  considered  as  a  highly  beneficial  practice. 
In  this  case  the  lime  should  be  used  in  its  unvslacked  state. 

The  best  earthy  materials  for  mixing  with  lime,  are  those 
which  contain  a  certain  proportion  of  decomposing  organic 
matter;  such  are  the  scourings  of  ditches,  the  sediment  of 
pools,  mud  deposited  by  rivers  and  tides,  marsh-mud,  and  all 
similar  substances.  The  lime  may  be  applied  at  the  rate  of 
two  bushels  to  the  cubic  yard,  and  fifty  cubic  yards  of  this  mix- 


46  MANURES. 

ture  to  the  acre,  will  form  a  rich  and  efl&cient  manuring  for 
any  soil. 

Materials  for  forming  manures  of  this  class  are  abundant  and 
constantly  presenting  themselves.  Old  gardens,  waste  collec- 
tions of  earth,  sweepings  of  roads  and  the  like,  scrapings  of 
brooks  and  ditches,  the  collections  of  weeds,  leaves,  and  other 
vegetable  substances  under  fences  and  along  the  headlands  of 
fields,  are  always  to  be  found  in  more  or  less  quantity. 

A  mixture  of  lime  in  the  proportion  mentioned  above, 
will  ferment  these  substances,  even  when  they  are  not  pecu- 
liarly abundant  in  organic  matter.  The  mass  will  heat,  and 
then  it  should  be  turned  over  once  or  oftener  to  render  the 
fermentation  perfect,  and  destroy  the  seeds  of  plants  which 
may  be  mingled  with  the  substances  to  be  fermented. 

It  is  an  error — though  entertained  by  many  farmers — to  sup- 
pose that  lime,  in  any  state,  comprises  fertilizing  properties 
within  itself;  and  that,  without  operating  upon  the  soil,  or  upon 
the  substances  which  it  contains,  it  is  an  enriching  manure.  It 
is  said  not  to  possess  any  fertilizing  principle  in  its  own  compo- 
sition, being  merely  a  calcareous  earth,  combined  with  fixed  air, 
and  holding  a  medium  between  sand  and  clay,  which  in  some 
measure  remedies  the  defects  of  both. 

By  the  analysis  of  soils,  we  find  that  all  productive  earth 
contains  a  certain  portion  of  lime,  and  although  we  learn  from 
experience  that  its  stimulative  powers  upon  the  roots  of  plants 
are  very  great,  yet  we  are  but  very  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  the  extent  or  the  exact  manner  in  which  its  influence  is 
brought  into  action,  and  we  are,  in  a  great  measure,  ignorant 
of  the  actual  changes  that  are  produced  upon  the  earth  after 
this  manure  has  been  applied. 

In  no  state  in  the  union  has  lime  been  so  extensively  and 
advantageously  used  for  agricultural  purposes  as  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  has  very  justl}-  received  the  attention  of  our  ablest 
farmers  and  men  of  science.  The  most  satisfactory  and  suc- 
cinct statement  relative  to  lime,  that  has  yet  fallen  under  our 
observation,  is  the  following,  by  Dr.  William  Darlingtox, 
of  ^^  estchester,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Lime  undoubtedly  has  a  good  effect  in  soils  which  are  sandy,  even  -wTiere 
sand  predominates.  But  its  meliorating  properties  are  most  conspicuous  in  a 
day  soil,  or  rather  in  a  stiff  loam.  A  good  proportion  of  decomposed  vegetable 
matter  adds  greatly  to  the  beneficial  effects  of  lime:  and  hence  our  farmers 
are  desirous  to  mingle  as  much  barn-yard  manure  as  possible  with  their  lime 
dressings,  and  to  get  their  fields  into  what  is  called  a  good  sod,  or  turf,  full  of 
grass  roots.     Then,  a  dressing  of  lime  has  an  admirable  effect. 

Yard  manure  is  not  generally  mingled  with  the  lime  when  the  latter  is  first 
applied.  The  practice  is  to  lime  the  Indian  corn  ground  prior  to  planting 
that  grain  on  the  inverted  sod;  and,  the  ensuing  spring,  to  manure  the  same 
field  for  a  barley  crop;  or  to  reserve  the  manure  until  the  succeeding  autumn, 
and  apply  it  to  the  wheat  crop. 


MANURES.  47 

The  soils  indicated  by  a  natural  growth  of  black  oak,  walnut  and  poplar, 
and  those  in  which  such  grasses  as  the  poas  and  fustucas  best  flourish,  are 
generally  most  signally  benefitted  by  the  use  of  lime.  In  short,  I  may  observe 
that  lime  has  been  found  more  or  less  beneficial  in  every  description  of  soil  in 
this  district.  It  is  most  so  in  hilly  or  rolling  lands,  where  clay  predominates; 
less  permanently  so  among  the  mica  slate;  and  least  of  all  on  the  magnesia 
rocks.     The  soil  on  these  last  is  rarely  worth  cultivating. 

The  quantity  of  lime,  per  acre,  which  can  be  used  advantageously,  varies 
with  the  condition  and  original  character  of  the  soil.  Highly  improved  land 
will  bear  a  heavier  dressing  than  poor  land.  On  a  soil  of  medium  condition, 
the  usual  dressing  is  forty  to  fifty  bushels  per  acre.  A  deep  rich  soil  (or  lime- 
stone land  in  the  great  valley)  will  receive  seventy  to  eighty,  and  even  one 
hundred  bushels  to  the  acre,  with  advantage.  On  very  poor  land,  twenty  to 
thirty  bushels  per  acre  is  deemed  most  advantageous  to  commence  with. 

Tne  application  is  usually  repeated  every  five  or  six  years;  that  is,  every 
time  the  field  comes  in  turn  to  be  broken  up  with  the  plough,  and  as  the  land 
improves,  the  quantity  of  lime  is  increased.  The  prevailing  practice  here, 
(Chester  county,)  is  to  plough  down  the  sod  or  lay  in  the  fall,  or  early  in  the 
spring,  harrow  it  once,  and  then  spread  the  lime,  previously  slacked  to  a 
powder,  preparatory  to  planting  the  field  with  Indian  corn. 

Every  field,  in  rotation,  receives  this  kind  of  dressing;  and  as  our  farms  are 
mostly  divided  into  about  half  a  dozen  fields,  the  dressing  of  course  comes 
once  in  six  years,  more  or  less,  according  to  the  number  of  the  fields.  Some 
enterprising  farmers,  however,  give  their  fields  an  intenncdiate  dressing  07i 
the  sod,  after  they  come  into  grass;  which  is  considered  an  excellent  practice, 
tending  rapidly  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  land. 

The  manner  of  apphjins;  the  lime  is  as  follows: — It  is  usually  obtained  in  a 
caustic  state  from  the  kiln,  deposited  in  heaps  in  the  field  where  it  is  to  be 
spread,  and  water  suflicient  to  slake  it  to  a  powder  is  then  thrown  upon  it. 
As  soon  as  it  is  slaked,  it  is  loaded  into  carts,  and  men  with  shovels  distribute 
it  as  evenly  as  possible  over  the  ground. 

The  crop  to  which  it  is  usually  applied  is  Indian  corn,  in  the  spring  of  the 
year:  say  the  month  of  April.  Occasionally  it  is  applied  preparatory  to  sow- 
ing wheat,  in  autumn.  When  used  as  a  top-dressing,  on  the  sod,  it  is  gene- 
rally applied  in  the  fall.  The  prevailing  opinion  is,  that  it  is  most  advan- 
tageously applied  to  the  corn  crop,  and  hence  the  general  practice.  But  the 
truth  is,  it  is  highly  advantageous  at  any  and  at  all  seasons." 

The  advantage  of  lime  is  threefold,  each  distinct  and  sepa- 
rate. 1.  It  is  a  Neutralizer.  2.  It  is  a  Decomposer.  3.  It 
is  a  Converter.  1.  Lime  acts  as  a  neutralizer  in  all  soils  in 
which  phosphoric  or  the  other  acids  exist  in  a  free  state.  2. 
The  geate  of  alumina,  the  least  of  all  demanded  by  plants, 
frequently  abounds  in  soils.  Long  formed  and  sun-baked, 
they  are  scarcely  acted  on  by  rain  or  dew;  but  lime  decom- 
posing these  metallic  and  earthy  geates,  forms  a  combination 
which,  in  its  nascent  state,  is  readily  dissolved.  It  is  therefore 
a  decomposer.  3.  But  the  great  use  of  lime  is  as  a  converter, 
turning  solid  and  insoluble  geine,  and  even  solid  vegetable 
fibre,  in  the  soil,  into  soluble  vegetable  food.* 

Gypsuin,  otherwise  sulphate  of  lime,  or  plaster  of  Paris, 
as  it  is  sometimes  termed,  from  having  been  dug  in  great 
quantities  from  the  quarries  at  Mont  Martre,  is  a  fossil,  of 
which  one  hundred  parts  of  that  kind  chiefly  used  as  a  manure 

*  Dr.  Dan.^'s  letter. 


48  MANURES. 

have  been  described  by  Chaptal  as  consisting  of — pure  cal- 
careous earth  or  lime,  30  parts;  sulphuric  acid,  32  parts;  and 
chrystallized  water,  38  parts.  It  dissolves  in  about  500  times 
its  own  weight  of  water,  is  reducible  to  powder  in  the  fire,  but 
is  almost  as  difficult  of  fusion  as  limestone,  and  loses  by  cal- 
cination about  20  per  cent. 

When  pure,  it  does  not  effervesce  with  acids,  is  insipid  to 
the  taste,  and  free  from  smell;  but  there  are  other  sorts  which 
vary  in  purity,  and  hence  the  analysis  of  chemists  may  differ 
in  the  accounts  of  its  properties.  There  is,  however,  a  very 
simple  method  of  testing  its  quality,  common  in  the  United  • 
States,  which  consists  in  placing  a  quantity  of  it,  pulverized, 
into  a  dry  pot  over  a  fire,  and  when  heated  it  gives  out  a  sul- 
phurous smell.  If  the  ebullition,  or  bubbling,  which  then 
takes  place,  is  considerable,  the  plaster  is  good;  but  if  not,  it 
is  considered  indifferent;  and  if  it  remains  motionless  like 
sand,  it  is  deemed  ivorthless. 

We  owe  much  to  the  late  Richard  Peters,  Esq.,  for  the 
enlightened  zeal  and  perseverance  with  which,  years  since,  he 
laboured  in  introducing  this  valuable  mineral  to  the  favourable 
notice  of  farmers,  in  the  face  of  the  most  violent  opposition. 
But  all  opposition  was  happily  surmounted;  and  this  valuable 
substance  soon  assumed,  and  still  occupies,  its  proper  rank 
among  manures. 

The  use  of  gypsum  as  a  manure,  though  only  within  the 
last  few  j'ears  brought  into  general  practice,  is  not  a  modern 
discovery,  for  traces  of  it  are  to  be  found  in  the  writings  of 
the  ancients.  It  was  not,  however,  until  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  that  public  attention  was  attracted  to  it,  its 
properties  as  a  manure  being  then  accidentally  discovered  in 
Germany  by  a  labouring  hand,  employed  at  a  quarry  of  that 
substance.  This  person  (his  name  should  have  been  preserved) 
had  occasion  frequently  to  pass  across  a  certain  strip  of  meadow 
to  shorten  his  distance  home;  and  being  an  observer  of  things, 
he  was  struck  with  the  luxuriance  of  the  grass  where  he  had 
walked;  and  supposing  it  to  be  caused  by  the  dust  of  the  gyp- 
sum from  his  feet  and  clothes,  made  experiments  which  verified 
his  supposition. 

Judge  Peters,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Philadelphia  Agri- 
cultural Society,  vol.  i.  page  156,  gives  the  following  account 
of  its  first  introduction  into  the  country:  "The  first  I  saw  of 
the  agricultural  effects  of  gypsum,  was  several  years  before  the 
commencement  of  the  revolutionary  war,  on  a  city  lot  on  the 
commons  of  Philadelphia,  occupied  by  Jacob  Barge.  He 
was  the  first  person  who  applied  the  gypsum  in  America  to 
agricultural  purposes,  but  on  a  small  scale. 


MANURES. 


49 


Burr-iTQillstone  makers  and  stucco-plasterers  were  the  only  persons  ac- 
quainted with  any  of  its  uses.  From  a  manufacturer  of  the  former  I  procured 
a  bushel,  which  enabled  me  to  begin  my  agricultural  experiments,  and  I  faith- 
fully improved  and  extended  them  as  I  obtained  more  means. 

A  quantity,  imported  as  ballast,  twenty  tons  I  believe,  in  a  vessel  engaged 
in  the  London  trade,  and  thrown  out  on  a  wharf,  without  knowledge  of  its 
value,  was  the  first  important  foundation  on  which  this  extensive  improve- 
ment to  our  husbandry  was  established. 

With  this,  Mr.  Barge  began  the  business  of  pulverizing  the  gypsum;  first 
in  a  hand,  subsequently  to  this  in  a  horse-mill,  and  soon  afterwards  it  was 
carried  on  in  a  water-mill.  When  I  had  convinced  myself  of  its  efficacy,  I 
disseminated  the  knowledge  I  had  acquired  through  many  parts.  But  "my 
success  in  obtaining  credit  to  my  assertions,  or  in  procuring  assistance  in 
prosecuting  my  experiments,  was,  for  a  length  of  time,  very  limited  and  dis- 
couraging. I  had  no  concern  in  the  manufacture,  or  any  other  object  in  the 
communications,  but  one  founded  in  a  desire  to  propagate  a  knowledge  of  this 
valuable  acquisition." 

The  soils  to  which  it  is  the  most  congenial  are  the  light, 
dry,  sandy,  gravelly  and  chalky;  to  heavy  loams,  strong  clays, 
and  to  wet  land,  it  seems  to  yield  no  benefit,  unless  the  former 
happens  to  be  well  limed. 

Upon  exhausted  land,  or  upon  soils  containing  little  vegeta- 
tive mould,  or  deprived  of  putrescent  manure,  it  will  prove 
powerless,  but  it  succeeds  well  after  an  application  of  dung, 
or  of  green  crops  ploughed  down.  It  produces,  also,  more 
effect  in  dry  than  when  laid  on  in  wet  weather. 

A  watery  temperature,  at  least,  arrests  its  effects,  and  seems 
even  to  suppress  them  altogether  if  the  gypsum  has  been  cal- 
cined; but  it  should  be  observed,  that  this  only  occurs  if  rain 
falls  soon  after  its  application,  for  if  it  happens  jorewiow^/y,  its 
moisture  upon  the  plants  will  be  found  very  useful.  This  pe- 
culiar property  has  given  rise  to  many  mistakes,  and  occasion- 
ed much  of  the  prejudices  which  exists  against  it  in  certain 
localities. 

The  late  Col.  John  Taylor,  of  Caroline  County,  Virginia, 
states  in  substance  that  he  sows  of  plaster  from  three  pecks  to 
one  bushel  per  acre.  Sown  on  clover,  especially  red  top,  in 
the  spring,  its  benefit  is  very  striking.  The  best  way  of  using 
it  is  in  the  spring  upon  the  long  manure  of  the  preceding 
winter,  to  be  ploughed  in  with  it.  He  regards  it  as  an  import- 
ant ally,  but  by  no  means  as  a  substitute  for  manure.  There 
should  be  intervals  allowed  of  two,  three,  and  four  years, 
between  applying  it  to  the  same  land. 

'•Within  the  last  ten  years,"  says  Col.  Taylor,  "I  have 
used  between  two  and  three  hundred  tons  of  gypsum,  in  a 
variety  of  experiments,  which  have  produced  the  conclusion 
that  it  increases  very  considerably  the  product  of  vegetable 
matter  in  almost  all  its  forms.  Except  when  sown  on  clover, 
which  it  benefits  almost  at  all  seasons,  I  have  found  it  succeed 
best  when  covered.  Its  immediate  benefit  to  Indian  corn  is 
5 


50  MANURES. 

vastly  greater  than  to  any  other  crop,  clover  excepted,  while 
its  benefit  to  the  land  is  equally  great." 

All  crops  are  ultimately  improved  by  its  improving  the 
soil,  even  when  its  eifects  are  not  immediately  visible.  It  is 
recommended  as  a  top-dressing  for  clover,  only,  by  Col.  Tay- 
lor; but  others,  who  speak  with  great  confidence,  say  that  it 
is  appropriate  to  the  artificial  grasses  and  leguminous  plants. 
It  has  also  been  known  to  improve  materially  the  sward  of 
mossbound  pasture.  It  is  recommended  to  harrow  it  in  with 
oats,  when  applied  to  that  crop,  in  preference  to  sowing  on  the 
surface  after  they  are  up. 

It  has  been  fully  ascertained  by  repeated  experiments,  that 
a  liberal  application  of  plaster  to  clover  at  the  time  of  turning 
down  and  preparing  for  a  wheat  crop,  is  far  more  beneficial  to 
the  crop,  and  much  preferable  to  turning  in  the  clover  in  the 
usual  way  and  plastering  on  the  surface. 

The  action  of  the  plaster  upon  the  clover  thus  covered  over, 
and  thereby  excluded  from  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere,  is 
instantaneous;  and  the  putridity  is  so  certain  as  to  cause  con- 
siderable gas,  which  in  its  passage  impregnates  the  sod  with 
all  its  fertilizing  qualities,  while  the  roots  shoot  down  and  feed 
on  a  bed  of  manure. 

It  is  usually  sown  by  the  hand,  at  the  time  when  the  leaves 
of  the  clovers  and  other  plants  begin  to  cover  the  surface;  and 
the  operation  is  performed,  if  possible,  during  still  damp  or 
slightly  stormy  weather,  it  being  beneficial  that  the  leaves 
should  be  somewhat  moistened,  so  as  to  retain  a  portion  of  the 
dust.  The  eflfect  of  this  slight  application  is  felt  for  several 
years.  It  should  be  ground  in  fair  or  good  weather,  and  spread 
shortly  after;  and  it  may  be  sown  either  in  spring  or  autumn, 
but  vegetation  must  have  first  put  forth.  An  old  cultivator 
says  that  when  clover  seed  is  sown  clear  from  the  hull  without 
covering,  it  ought  to  be  rolled  in  plaster,  and  it  v.ill  preserve 
it  in  a  moist  state  and  promote  its  vegetation. 


in.    MARL. 

No  form  of  matter  whatever,  known  to  us  at  tiiis  time,  is 
more  valuable  in  agriculture,  in  the  regions  where  it  abounds, 
than  rich  marl,  which  in  some  one  of  its  forms  is  widely  dis- 
seminated over  our  country,  stretching  from  New  Jersey  to 
Georgia  and  Louisiana,  and  from  the  seaboard  to  the  highlands, 
or  primitive  formations  in  the  interior.  The  existence  of  ex- 
haustless  stores  of  this  fertilizer  of  the  soil  in  New  Jersey,  and 


MANURES.  51 

its  value  as  an  agricultural  agent,  was  known  before  the  revo- 
lution; yet,  strange  to  say,  little  or  no  attention  was  paid  to  it 
until  within  a  few  years  past.  The  first  successful  trial  of  marl 
as  a  manure,  was  made,  we  believe,  in  the  neighbourhood  oi 
Pemberton,  Burlington  county.  New  Jersey,  about  the  close 
of  the  last  century.  The  first  notice  we  find  of  it  is  in  a  paper 
"On  a  new  mineral  manure  for  clover,"  by  Josiah  Reeves, 
of  Rancocus  Creek,  Burlington  county,  N.  J.,  read  before  the 
Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture,  Dec.  9, 1806. 
He  says — 

On  my  farm,  and  throughout  nur  neighbourhood,  it  abounds  near  the  sur- 
face in  the  meadows,  and  generally  in  the  banks  and  hill  sides.  The  depth  of 
the  veins  not  definitely  ascertained — varying,  Mr.  Reeves  thinks,  from  six  to 
fifteen  feet.  "The  result  of  my  own  and  my  neighbours'  experience  is,  that 
for  grass  lands  (the  basis  of  all  good  husbandry)  about  ten  two  horse  loads  to 
the  acre,  laid  on  the  surface  in  autumn,  is  better,  if  the  next  season  prove 
moist,  than  double  the  quantity  of  any  other  manure,  and  will  last  longer — 
changing  in  two  years  rough-bound  meadow  into  almost  clear  white  and  red 
clover.  But  the  last  dry  summer  it  did  very  little  good.  I  am  in  the  practice 
of  mixing  in  my  barn-yard,  or  in  the  compost  heap,  the  marl  with  the  dung, 
two  loads  of  the  former  with  one  of  the  latter,  and  always  find  that  it  is  as 
good,  if  not  better  than  the  same  quantity  of  dung  alone. 

Mr.  Reeves  furnished  the  late  Dr.  Seybert  with  the  spe- 
cimen he  analyzed — we  believe  the  first  submitted  to  chemical 
analysis.* 

Notwithstanding  this  conclusive  evidence  in  favour  of  marl, 
from  a  source  entitled  to  the  highest  credit,  it  was  regarded 
with  great  caution;  its  progress  of  course  was  tardy,  and  we 
hear  but  little  more  of  the  subject  until  about  the  year  1813. 
The  fifth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Philadelphia  Society 
contains  a  communication  dated  Evesham,  N.  J.,  9th  mo.  20th, 
1815,  on  the  New  Jersey  marls,  by  Mark  Reeves.  This 
was  a  lucid  article,  and  performed  its  office  by  directing  the 
attention  of  public  spirited  men  to  the  subject.  This  valuable 
contribution  to  the  Memoirs  was  followed  by  another,  from 
the  pen  of  a  gentleman,  now  no  more,  but  whose  moral  worth, 
and  great  practical  knowledge,  endeared  him  to  the  circle  of 
his  friends  and  the  community  at  large.  We  refer  to  the  late 
Dr.  George  Holcomb,  of  Allentown,  N.  J.,  who  was  struck 
down  by  the  hand  of  death  in  the  midst  of  years  and  useful- 
ness. His  paper  on  New  Jersey  marls  was  written  Sept.  30, 
1815,  ten  days  after  that  of  Mr.  Reeves;  and,  from  one  of  the 
following  extracts,  we  learn  that  on  one  farm,  at  least,  in  the 
county  of  Monmouth,  it  had  been  in  use  for  twelve  years,  with 
the  greatest  benefit.  Dr.  H.  gives  the  following  cases  of  ex- 
traordinary production,  in  order  to  exhibit  the  surprising  ef- 
fects of  marl  at  that  period. 

*  The  analysis  made  by  Dr.  Seybeht  gave,  silica  49.83 — alumina  6.92— pro- 
toxide  of  iron  21.53— potash  10.12— magnesia  1.83— water  9.80,  in  the  1.00  grs. 


% 


52  MANURES. 

A  gentleman  in  Burlington  county  grew  a  very  superior  crop  of  Indian  com 
from  a  certain  field;  a  crop  of  rye— after  the  Jersey  manner— immediately  fol- 
lowed it.  The  same  field,  the  same  season,  yielded  a  heavy  burthen  of  clover; 
and  to  complete  this  excessive  cropping,  exhibited  in  the  fall  as  large  a  growth 
of  buckwheat  as  the  neighbourhood  had  ever  seen.  This  uncommon  produc- 
tiveness was  solely  the  effect  of  ferruginous  marl.  Ten  years  ago,  the  field 
was  covered  with  India-grass — an  uninclosed  barren. 

A  farm  in  Monmouth  yielded,  according  to  the  opinion  of  an  observing 
neighbour,  from  ten  to  twelve  bushels  of  Indian  corn  per  acre.  The  quantity 
of  grass  cut,  was  limited  in  the  extreme.  The  free  use  of  marl  for  twelve 
vears  has  covered  this  farm  with  the  richest  grasses — and  from  one  of  its  fields 
the  last  season,  sixty-threebushelsof  shelled  corn  were  gathered  (to  the  acre).* 
This,  I  apprehend,  was  as  fine  a  crop  of  corn  as  any  ever  grown,  under  the 
.same  circumstances,  in  the  United  States.  It  was  planted  in  hills  five  and  a 
half  feet  apart,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  field,  for  the  last  twenty  years, 
had  not  received  the  benefit  of  a  single  shovel  of  stable  manure.  The  farm 
has  been  under  tillage  nearly  a  century. — Dr.  George  Holcomb. 

The  same  volume  of  the  Memoirs  contains  the  testimony  of 
George  Craft  and  Paul  Cooper,  both  of  Gloucester  county, 
in  favour  of  marl  as  a  manure,  and  detailing  the  astonishing 
effects  produced  by  its  application;  the  former  entertained  so 
high  an  opinion  of  it,  from  a  previous  trial,  that  during  the 
winter  of  1SI4-15,  he  hauled  two  hundred  loads  of  it  to  his 
place,  from  a  pit  situated  at  a  distance  of  five  miles;  and  in 
doing  so,  he  was  amply  compensated. 

Marl  is  found,  as  has  been  before  remarked,  in  various  por- 
tions of  our  country,  but  never,  we  believe,  within  the  limits 
of  Primitive  formations,  being  confined  in  the  "United  States, 
perhaps,  exclusively  to  the  Tertiary  (or  secondary)  formations, 
and  the  alluvial  and  deluvial  deposits,  which  lie  principally  on 
the  seaboard,  and  are  of  recent  date  compared  with  other  forma- 
tions." Professor  Rogers  states,  that  the  shell  marls  of 
Delaware,  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  the  other  states  still 
farther  south,  contain,  not  unfrequently,  as  high  a  per  centage 
of  the  green-sand  as  does  the  sea-beach  upon  the  coast  of  Mon- 
mouth county  in  New  Jersey,  which  he  represents  in  his  Re- 
port as  rendering,  by  its  application,  the  most  sterile  patches 
of  sandy  soil  capable  of  sustaining  very  admirable  crops  of 
corn.  That  this  powerful  agent  in  agriculture  is  widely  dif- 
fused from  the  primitive  formations  of  New  Jersey,  along  our 
southern  seaboard,  no  doubt  is  now  entertained;  and  all  that 
remains  to  bring  the  soil  in  this  itnmense  region,  now  mostly 
sterile,  having  been  cropped  to  death,  to  the  highest  grade  in 
the  scale  of  fertility,  is  a  judicious  and  persevering  use  of  the 

*  The  marl  in  this  quarter  (Mount  Pleasant,  Monmouth  county,)  has  been 
known  and  used  as  a  fertilizer  for  forty  years.  It  is  applied  very  profu.selv — 
one  hundred  loads  to  the  acre,  or  even  more,  being  no  unusual  application. 
The  improvement  is  very  permanent,  changing  the  natural  growth  from  In- 
dian-grass and  five-finger,  (or  cinquefoil,')  to  fine  white  clover.  White  alder, 
and  other  plants  of  rich  soils,  abound  in  the  marl  meadows. — Rogers^  Geological 
Siirveij,  1836,  p.  46. 


MANURES.  53 

regenerating  means,  placed  by  the  author  of  all  good  within 
the  reach  of  the  planter  and  the  husbandman. 

The  Peninsula  formed  by  the  state  of  Delaware  and  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  abounds  with  this  fertilizing  agent 
in  almost  all  its  varieties.  It  is  pretty  well  established,  we 
think,  that  Mr.  John  Singleton,  of  Talbot  county,  Mary- 
land, was  the  first  person  who  discovered  the  existence  of  marl 
in  that  state,  which  he  states  was  in  August,  1805.  The  next 
year  he  applied  it  with  marked  advantage  to  the  soil.  The  re- 
sult was  encouraging,  and  he  continued  the  use  of  marl  from 
that  period.  His  intelligent  neighbours  gradually  followed 
his  example. 

We  have  thus  briefly  sketched  an  outline  of  the  history  of 
this  important  agent  in  agriculture.  It  seems  that  its  value  as 
a  fertilizer  of  the  soil  was  long  since  known  and  acknowledged — 
yet,  nevertheless,  in  the  face  of  great  practical  results — the 
transformation  of  the  sterile  common  to  the  fertile  field — such 
were  the  prejudices  of  the  great  mass,  that,  although  they  could 
not  discredit  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses,  still  they  were 
slow  of  faith,  and  hesitated  for  a  long  time  even  to  make  an 
experiment.*  The  Philadelphia  Society  did  much  to  bring 
the  subject  before  the  people — but  to  a  few  individuals  of  that 
early  day,  are  vve  mainly  indebted  for  the  information  dissemi- 
nated. In  this  rank  the  late  Judge  Peters  was  foremost.  His 
coadjutor,  Dr.  James  Mease,  who  still  lives  to  witness  the  won- 
derful effects  produced  in  our  country  by  the  application  of  sci- 
ence to  agriculture,  laboured  diligently  to  develope  the  vast  i*e- 
sources  of  these  beds  of  mineral  manure,  placed  by  a  bountiful 
providence  within  the  reach  of  man,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  render 
fertile,  beautify  and  adorn  the  soil  on  which  he  had  placed  him. 
In  this  good  work,  many  very  intelligent  Jerseymen  exerted 
themselves  to  the  utmost.  They  were  not  willing  to  reap  the 
advantages  alone,  but  were  anxious  that  their  neighbours  should 
participate  with  them.  The  names  of  many  individuals  might 
be  here  introduced,  who  took  an  active  and  early  stand  in  dis- 
seminating a  knowledge  of  the  value  of  marl,  among  the  far- 
mers of  New  Jersey  and  the  adjacent  states — both  by  precejjt 
and  example. 

*  A  very  intelligent  and  observing  old  gentleman  of  Philadelphia,  in  con- 
versation with  the  writer  of  this  some  time  since  on  the  subject  of  marl,  ob- 
served, that  many  years  ago  he  used  occasionally  to  visit  Haddonfield,  and 
that  on  explaining  to  the  inhabitants  the  advantages  of  marl,  and  the  necessity 
of  their  appl)'ing  it  to  their  lands,  in  order  to  bring  them  up  in  the  scale  of  fer- 
tility, and  compete  with  their  neighbours  on  the  score  of  improvement,  he  found 
many  of  them  faithless — trouble,  labour  and  expense,  book-farming,  &c.,  were 
as  so  many  lions  in  the  way.  Said  the  old  gentleman,  I  could  not  but  observe 
to  them,  that  they  held  a  shilling  so  near  the  eye  that  they  could  not  see  a  dol- 
lar afar  off. 
5* 


54  MANURES. 

Immense  beds  of  astringent  clay,  denominated  spurious 
marl,  from  its  pernicious  effects  when  applied  in  large  quanti- 
ties to  the  soil,  are  to  be  found  in  the  marl  regions  of  New 
Jersey.  This  bad  effect  on  the  soil  and  vegetation,  is  owing 
mainly  to  the  astringent  ingredients  combined  with  it,  such  as 
copperas  and  alum-earth,  which  produce  a  powerful  acid  re- 
action. But  these  pernicious  qualities  can  be  corrected,  and 
the  marl  or  clay  rendered  subservient  to  the  agriculturist  in 
the  production  of  his  crops.  Professor  Rogers,  in  his  Re- 
port, says,  that  if  this  clay  be  dug  several  months  before  it  is 
to  be  used,  and  spread  out  in  broad,  shallow,  flat  heaps,  exposed 
to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  and  where  the  rains  may  pene- 
trate it,  carrying  off  the  copperas  and  alum-earth,  which  it  is 
known  readily  dissolves  in  water;  and  as  the  green  mineral 
does  not  dissolve  in  water,  it  sustains  no  loss  in  its  fertilizing 
qualities  by  its  exposure  to  the  rains.  This  clay  contains  a  por- 
tion of  the  green  granular  material  of  the  true  marl — but  the  ope- 
rator should  be  very  careful  in  his  experiments.  A  year  or  two 
will  be  suflicient  to  determine  its  value,  the  time  of  its  expo- 
sure to  the  atmosphere,  the  best  method  of  its  preparation,  and 
the  quantity  and  manner  of  its  application.  But  the  following 
simple  and  effective  process  is  to  be  preferred. 

Add  to  every  heap  of  this  spurious  astringent  marl,  a  snaall  quantity  of 
freshly  burnt  lime,  and  mingle  them  thoroughly  together.  The  sulphuric  acid 
of  the  copperas  or  alum-earth,  or  of  both,  if  present,  will  pass  over  to  the  lime, 
and  form  sn\\)h.dAe  oiMxae, {gypsum  or  plaster.)  the  value  of  "which,  as  a  stimu- 
lant to  vegetation,  is  well  understood;  the  other  ingredients,  the  oxide  of  iron 
and  clay,  will,  ou  being  liberated,  contribute  also  towards  improving  the  tex- 
ture of  the  soil  should  it  be  sandy.  A  bushel  of  lime  to  every  hundred  bushels, 
or  five  tons  of  the  mass  (we  would  recommend  double  the  quantit)^  of  lime) 
■\rill,  in  most  cases,  be  sufficient  to  neutralize  all  the  astringent  matter  present, 
and  to  convert  it  into,  or  rather  replace  it  by,  gypsum.  The  dressing  of  an 
acre  of  such  a  mixture  will  contain  of  the  green-marl,  of  gypsum,  and  of  un- 
combined  lime,  or  more  truly  lime  now  in  a  state  of  carbonate,  in  all  proba- 
bility fully  enough  to  impart  to  the  soil  a  most  decided  improvement  in  its  fer- 
tility. 

This  marly  clay  is  not  only  easily  divested  of  its  injurious 
properties  by  the  action  of  lime,  or  exposure  to  the  atmosphere, 
but  it  may  also  be  rendered  of  vast  advantage,  by  adopting  the 
practice  of  the  English  farmers — that  is,  making  a  compost  of 
the  substance  with  the  common  manure  of  the  farm. — See  Eng- 
lish Farmers'  Reports,  No.  IX.  When  a  field  is  over-limed, 
the  best  remedy  is  the  application  of  putrescent  and  vegetable 
manures.  So  when  a  field  has  become  sterile  by  an  over-dose 
of  this  marly  clay,  a  certain  remedy  will  be  found  by  applying 
to  each  acre  a  few  bushels  of  lime — which  will  very  speedily 
correct  the  acidity  in  the  soil  communicated  by  the  astringent 
clay. 

Directions  for  the  Selection  and  Proper  Mode  of  Applying  the  Green-sand  Marl. 
lu  seeking  for  the  marl  stratum  in  neighbourhoods  where  it  is  supposed  to 


MANURES.  55 

occur,  but  where  a  covering  of  any  of  the  superficial  deposits  obscures  it,  the 
primary  point  to  be  remembered  is,  that  the  true  marl  is  the  lowest  deposit  of 
the  region.  We  should  find  out,  therefore,  the  deepest  impressions  of  the  land, 
as  the  meadows  and  natural  ravines,  and  by  the  use  of  an  auger  or  other  in- 
strument for  probing  the  ground,  several  feet  in  length,  we  may  very  frequently 
ascertain  whether  the  stratum  lies  sufficiently  near  the  surface  to  be  easily  and 
economically  uncovered.  A  pretty  sure  guide  to  the  marl  may  be  found  in 
some  places  from  the  aspect  and  composition  of  the  earth  upon  and  near  the 
surface.  Should  it  be  at  all  greenish,  or  contain,  on  close  inspection,  any  of 
the  green  granules,  the  probability  is  pretty  strong  that  the  marl  lies  beneath, 
at  a  very  moderate  depth,  and  the  likelihood  of  this  is  augmented  when  we  find 
our  borings  bring  up  an  increasing  proportion  of  this  mineral  as  we  descend 
deeper.  I  have  repeatedly  found  the  position  of  the  marl  stratum  indicated 
by  the  trickling  forth  of  the  water  from  the  foot  of  a  bank,  for  the  water  is  al- 
most invariably  seen  to  issue  along  the  top  of  either  the  dark  clay  or  the  true 
marl. 

For  judging  of  the  quality  of  a  marl  by  observation,  some  familiarity  with 
the  multiform  aspects  which  it  puts  on  is  indispensable.  The  leading  rule, 
however,  is,  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  fertilizing  efficacy  of  the  compound, 
resides  in  the  minute  round  greenish  grains  which  compose  more  or  less  of  it, 
or  sometimes  all  of  it,  and  that  it  seems,  moreover,  to  be  dependant  upon  the 
proportion  which  these  green  grains  contain  of  those  powerful  alkaline  stimu- 
lants to  vegetation,  potash  and  lime,  but  more  especially  potash.  The  first  thing, 
then,  is  to  approximate  to  the  relative  quantity  of  the  green  grains  in  the  Avhole 
mass,  and  this  may  he  effected,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  accuracy,  in  seve- 
ral ways.  The  simplest  and  surest  method  is  to  employ  a  small  pocket  mag- 
nifying-glass  (a  common  burning-glass  will  answer,)  and  to  make  the  eye 
familiar  as  soon  as  possible  with  the  dark  green  grains,  so  as  to  distinguish 
them  at  once  from  other  dark  varieties  of  sand  which  sometimes  occur  asso- 
ciated with  them.  A  little  practice  will  very  soon  enable  one  to  use  the  glass 
expertly,  and  to  arrive  at  a  pretty  true  estimate  of  the  probable  per  centage  in 
which  the  green  grains  may  exist.  But  as  these  granules  cannot  sometimes 
be  distinguished  from  the  grains  of  ordinary  white  flinty  sand,  or  from  other 
kinds,  in  consequence  of  the  particles  being  all  alike  coated  with  a  thin  film  of 
the  dark  cementing  clay,  it  will  be  useful  to  devise  some  method  of  bringing 
out  under  the  magnifier  their  different  characteristic  traits  of  colour  and  form. 
Let  the  mass  be  washed  in  a  large  glass  tumbler,  and  repeatedly  agitated  with 
the  water,  until  as  much  of  the  clay  as  possible  has  been  detached  from  the 
grains.  After  pouring  off  the  turbid  water  by  repeated  rinsings,  and  permit- 
ting it  to  settle  until  clear,  we  may  estimate  the  comparative  quantity  of  clay 
in  different  marls  by  the  relative  amount  of  sediment  which  subsides.  If  we 
wish  to  be  more  accurate,  we  can  weigh  out  a  given  quantity  of  the  marl,  then 
pursue  the  above  plan,  and  decant  the  clear  water  from  the  clay,  and  after 
thoroughly  drying  the  clay,  weigh  it  to  ascertain  its  amount.  Having  got 
away  most  of  the  clay,  we  should  spread  out  the  granular  matter  upon  a  sheet 
of  paper  and  dry  it,  when  there  will  be  no  farther  difficulty  in  distinguishing, 
by  their  colour  and  lustre,  the  foreign  impurities,  from  the  grains  of  the  true 
marl,  and  also  of  estimating  the  relative  abundance  of  each.  When  the  marl 
to  be  examined  contains  much  clay,  I  would  recommend  the  experiments  to 
be  made  upon  a  regularly  weighed  quantity,  weighing  both  the  clayey  and  the 
granular  portions.  A  delicate  apothecary's  balance  will  commonly  be  found 
accurate  enough.  Another  more  expeditious,  though  less  accurate  method,  is 
merely  to  dry  the  marl,  and  spread  it  extremely  thin  upon  a  sheet  of  white 
paper,  and  then  to  hold  it  near  a  window  or  in  the  light,  and  to  examine  it 
carefully  by  the  magnifier.  The  flinty  sand,  though  stained  with  clay,  may 
then  be  clearly  discerned,  in  consequence  of  its  transparency,  whereas'  when 
we  inspect  a  solid  lump,  all  the  particles  upon  the  surface  are  nearly  alike 
dark. 

A  good  suggestion  is,  to  place  a  portion  of  the  marl  upon  a  hot  shovel  or  on 
the  top  of  a  stove,  when  all  the  marl  grains  will  change  from  their  ordinary 
green  to  a  light  red  or  brick  colour,  while  the  other  materials  of  the  mass  sus- 
tain little  alteration.  This  will  often  make  it  obvious  to  the  naked  eye  in  what 
proportion  the  green  grains  are  present. 


55  MANURES. 

When  there  is  a  yellowish  or  whitish  incrustation  upon  the  marl  in  a  bank, 
after  the  moist  surface  has  remained  for  some  time  exposed  to  the  weather,  it 
is  indicative  of  the  existence  of  a  portion  of  copperas  or  alum-earth,  the  hurtful 
nature  of  which  has  already  been  explained. 

An  astringent  iukj  taste  will  very  often  detect  the  presence  of  these  noxious 
substances  at  times  when  no  such  efflorescence  shows  itself.  If  the  quantity 
be  too  small  to  betray  itself  distinctly  to  the  palate,  and  we  are  still  in  doubt  as 
to  their  presence,  other  more  rigorous  tests  are  within  our  reach,  and  as  these 
astringent  matters  are  so  unquestionably  pernicious  in  their  action,  it  must  be 
of  importance  to  have  the  means  of  determining  in  what  proportions  they  abound 
in  different  marls.  This  can  be  effected  with  precision  only  by  a  systematic 
chemical  analysis,  but  their  existence  can  be  made  to  appear  by  the  following 
test.  Put  a  small  portion  of  the  marl  in  a  flask  or  other  thin  glass  vessel,  pour 
upon  it  some  pure  water,  and  heat  it  moderately.  After  causing  the  water  to 
dissolve  in  this  way  as  much  as  possible,  remove  the  heat,  and  let  it  settle,  then 
decant  the  clear  fluid  into  some  glass  vessel,  such  as  a  wine-glass.  If  there  has 
been  any  copperas  present,  it  will  be  proved  by  adding  to  the  fluid  a  little  lime- 
water,  which  will  produce  a  milky  turbidness,  that  after  a  little  while  will  be- 
come stained  of  a  yellowish-brown  colour.  The  milkiness  is  owing  to  the 
formation  of  gypsum,  and  the  browm  colour  to  oxide  of  iron  from  the  copperas. 
Or  in  lieu  of  this,  add  a  solution  of  oak  bark,  and  if  copperas  be  present,  we 
shall  have  a  dark  inky  colour  at  once  produced. 

A  good  marl  will,  upon  being  squeezed  in  the  hand,  fall  asunder  again  rather 
than  bake  into  a  tough  doughy  mass,  and  upon  being  left  in  heaps  to  dry  will 
retain  a  light  greyish-green  colour  and  be  extremely  crmnbly.  It  seems  to  be 
a  very  general  characteristic  of  the  better  class  of  marls,  that  they  throw  out 
a  white  efflorescence  or  crust,  upon  those  grains  which  are  most  exposed  to 
the  air.  Hence  the  very  light  colour  externally,  which  some  heaps  of  marl 
possess.  This  crust  consists  of  the  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum)  and  carbonate 
of  lime,  but  more  usually  of  the  former.  A  drop  or  two  of  strong  vinegar  or 
any  strong  acid  will  produce  an  efflorescence  ov  frothing  if  it  be  the  carbonate 
of  lime,  and  should  nothing  of  this  kind  take  place,  Ave  may  set  it  down  to  be 
gypsum.  Of  course,  from  the  minuteness  of  the  quantity  of  the  white  coating, 
much  care  and  nicety  of  observation  are  demanded  in  doing  this,  in  order  to 
avoid  erroneous  conclusions. 

I  do  not  state  that  marls  equally  good  with  that  kind  having  the  efflorescence 
do  not  very  frequently  occur  and  exhibit  none  of  this  white  incrustation. 

It  does  not  seem  that  any  general  rule  can  at  present  be  safely  given  for  dis- 
tinguishing the  fertilizing  properties  of  a  marl  by  \\?  colour.  The  truth  of  this 
must  appear  from  what  has  been  said  about  the  peculiar  shade  of  colour  being 
so  frequently  owing  to  the  colour  of  the  intermingled  cloy.  When  the  mass, 
however,  is  comparatively  free  from  clay  or  common  sand,  and  consists  of  little 
else  than  the  single  material,  the  green-sand,  my  observations  go  to  establish 
that  the  rather  dark  green  variety  is  more  potent  in  its  effects  upon  the  land 
than  the  very  light  green  which  sometimes  overlies  it. 

The  presence  or  absence  of  shells  I  look  upon  to  be  a  point  of  but  little  mo- 
ment, for  I  find  that  several  of  the  most  active  marls  in  the  region,  show  no 
traces  of  fossils  in  them.  The  whole  amount  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  the  shape 
of  fossils,  and  in  that  of  the  occasional  white  incrustation  upon  the  grains,  can 
in  very  few  instances  amount  to  one  -per  cent.,  while  as  my  analyses  show  that 
the  linie  chemically  combined  with  the  other  ingredients  in  the  green  grains, 
is  sometimes  as  much  as  ten  per  cent.,  and  that  the  potash  amounts  almost  to 
fifteen  per  cent. 

There  yet  remains,  however,  the  most  important,  and  by  far  the  most  diffi- 
cult inquiry,  namely — into  the  e.vact  constitution  of  the  green  grains,  in  order 
to  determine  the  per  centage  of  the  several  ingredients — or,  in  other  words, 
the  richness  of  the  marl  in  potash  and  line.  I  had  entertained  hopes,  that  the 
external  aspect  of  the  grains  might  perhaps  depend  in  part  on  the  presence  and 
proportion  of  these  bodies,  and  thai  mere  inspection,  after  multiplied  analyses 
were  made  might  enable  any  one  with  certain  directions,  to  inform  himself 
whether  a  mart  abounded  in  these  essentials  or  not.  But,  I  find  that  so  far 
from  being  a  mineral  of  definite  and  constant  proportions,  as  some  mineralo- 


MANURES.  57 

gists  have  regarded  it,  the  green-sand  is  in  fact  a  compound,  which  fluctuates 
widely  in  its  external  characters  and  in  its  chemical  composition. 

Though  it  is  not  presumed  that  among  those  engaged  in  agriculture,  more 
than  a  very  few  persons  possess  the  requisite  chemical  skill,  or  the  facilities 
for  this  species  of  research;  yet,  for  the  sake  of  enabling  those  to  execute  it, 
who  may  chance  to  be  competent  to  this  kind  of  analysis,  I  have  thought  it 
well  to  introduce  a  statement  of  my  method  of  analyzing  the  mineral  in  ques- 
tion. Several  plans,  modifications  of  the  same  general  method,  have  been  tried 
for  the  purpose  of  arriving,  if  possible,  at  some  mode  sufficiently  simple  to 
make  it  practicable  by  those  who  possess  but  a  limited  knowledge  of  chemistry. 
But  the  nature  of  the  compound  seems  not  to  admit  of  either  a  very  direct  or 
expeditious  course  of  operation,  and  though  practice  has  taught  me  the  steps 
which  are  the  most  certain  and  least  operose  in  the  case,  I  can  hardly  hope, 
that  the  analysis  of  the  green  marl  can  at  present  be  brought  within  the  skill 
of  such  as  are  not  already  professionally  familiar  with  this  laborious  and  intri- 
cate art. 

Method  of  Analyzing  the  Green-saiid. — (a)  Digest  the  mass  in  a  flask  of  pretty 
strong  muriatic  acid,  by  a  sand-bath  heat  for  at  least  three  days,  or  boil  it  ac- 
tively for  five  or  six  hours.  Everythinsr  is  dissolved  but  the  silica,  which  must 
be  filtered,  ignited,  and  weighed,  (b)  Precipitate  the  oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 
by  ammonia  and  estimate  "them  together,  or  detach  the  alumina  hy  caustic 
'potash,  (c)  EvapoKate  the  ammoniacal  solution  to  total  dryness,  and  heat  the 
mass  to  incipient  redness,  to  expel  the  muriate  of  ammonia.  There  remain 
the  chlorides  of  calcium,  magnesium,  and  potassium,  which  redissolve  in 
water,  dividing  the  liquor.  ((/)  To  one  half  add  oxalate  of  ammonia,  and 
separate  the  lime,  then  by  ammonia  and  phosphate  of  soda  separate  the  mag- 
nesia. Subtract  the  combined  weight  of  these  two  computed  as  chlorides  from 
the  original  triple  chloride,  and  we  have  the  chloride  of  potassiuvi.  (c)  Now 
evaporate  the  other  half  again  to  dryness  and  dissolve  up  all  the  chlorides  of 
calcium  and  magnesium  by  alcohol,  and  dry  and  weigh  the  residual  chloride 
of  potassium.  If  further  check  is  necessary,  convert  this  into  chloroplatinate 
of  potassium  and  estimate  the  potash  from  this. 

Mr.  Pierce,  iii  a  Survey  of  the  Alluvial  District  of  New 
Jersey,  furnished  for  Silliman's  Journal,  thus  describes  the 
use  and  effects  of  marl: 

"I  visited  many  beds  of  marl,  and  found  them  of  a  pretty 
uniform  character.  The  colour  is  generally  grey  or  greyish- 
white,  and  good  in  proportion  to  its  whiteness,  which  indicates 
the  quantity  of  calcareous  earth  it  contains.  From  thirty  to 
eighty  loads  of  marl  are  spread  upon  an  acre.  It  is  believed 
that  a  good  dressing  will  last  from  twelve  to  twenty  years. 
The  lands  of  Moninouth  county  alone  are  said  to  be  enhanced 
in  value  more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars  by  the  discovery 
and  use  of  marl. 

"A  respectable  farmer  of  Middletown  mentioned  to  me  that 
a  few  years  since  he  contemplated  abandoning  his  large  farm 
for  land  in  other  districts,  as  his  own  was  unproductive.  Learn- 
ing the  discovery  of  marl,  he  made  himself  acquainted  with 
the  mode  of  exainining,  and  found  good  beds  of  this  manure  in 
almost  every  field,  and  liberally  applied  dressings  to  the  soil.  In 
walking  over  his  ground,  I  observed  rich  white  marl  breaking 
out  of  banks  and  hillocks,  and  the  streams  paved  with  marine 
decaying  shells.  For  more  than  a  century  this  land  had  been 
regarded  by  the  proprietors  as  worn  out  and  useless. 


58  MANURES. 

"This  farm  in  its  improved  state  exhibited  a  gratifying  sight. 
The  hills,  were  formerly  thorns,  thistles  and  mulleins,  disputed 
the  dominion,  now  supported  luxuriant  corn.  Extensive  ver- 
dant meadows,  where  numerous  stacks  of  grain  and  well  filled 
barhs  evinced  the  productiveness  of  these  fields,  which  are  now 
estimated  at  three  times  their  former  value.'' 

Salt  is,  probably,  as  essential  to  the  health  of  vegetables  as 
of  animals,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  a  mineral  thus 
widely  diffused  performs  important  functions.  It  exists  in  all 
plants,  is  a  constituent  part  of  almost  every  kind  of  animal  and 
vegetable  manure,  and  is  found  in  most  soils  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity for  the  purposes  of  vegetation. 

Experiments  with  salt  as  a  manure,  have  in  most  cases  failed, 
or  been  of  doubtful  success.  That  in  many  cases,  salt  applied 
in  small  quantities  has  been  useful,  can  hardly  be  questioned. 
These,  we  may  believe,  were  cases  comparatively  rare,  where 
there  was  a  deficiency  of  salt  in  the  soil  for  the  use  of  the 
plants,  or  where  it  was  not  supplied  in  sufficient  quantity  by 
the  ordinary  manures. 

Though  salt  can  rarely  be  applied  with  advantage  directly  to 
the  soil,  and  ought  never  to  be  employed  at  hazard,  without 
its  being  known  whether  the  salt  of  the  soil  is  really  deficient, 
yet  there  is  reason  to  believe  that,  in  various  cases,  it  may  be 
applied  along  with  other  substances  with  manifest  advantage. 

Salt,  in  small  quantities,  is  said  to  assist  the  decomposition 
of  animal  and  vegetable  matter;  and  a  portion  of  it  mixed  with 
ordinary  composts  of  earth  and  lime,  appears  to  increase  their 
fertilizing  properties,  "By  the  information  which  I  have  been 
able  to  collect,  I  am  induced  to  consider  salt,  when  sparingly 
applied,  as  an  admirable  manure,  especially  for  fallows  and 
arable  land,  and  when  mixed  up  with  soil  out  of  gutters,  or 
refuse  dirt  and  ashes,  to  be  very  valuable  on  grass  lands.  My 
own  experience  convinces  me  that  it  is  very  powerful  in  de- 
stroying vegetation,  if  laid  on  too  thick.''* 

The  "Complete  Grazier,"  which  is  considered  a  standard 
work  by  English  Farmers,  says,  that  "salt  is  of  singular  fer- 
tility on  pasture  lands;  on  which,  when  it  is  properly  scattered, 
cattle  thrive  very  speedily;  besides  which,  it  not  only  im- 
proves and  increases  the  herbage,  but  also  sweetens  sour  pas- 
tures, while  it  destroys  weeds  and  noxious  vermin." 

That  celebrated  chemist,  Samuel  Parks,  in  his  great  work 
on  Chemistry,  says,  "In  a  conversation  with  a  gentleman  who 
has  spent  many  years  of  a  valuable  life  in  making  experiments 
on  the  employment  of  salt  in  agriculture,  I  was  informed  that 

♦  Lord  Kenyon's  Reply  to  the  English  Board  of  Trade. 


MANURES. 


59 


one  bushel  to  the  acre  makes  land  always  more  productive,  but 
that  a  larger  quantity  would  for  two  or  three  years  afterward 
render  it  actually  sterile."     See  Appendix  C. 

We  cannot,  however,  recommend  salt,  as  a  general  manure, 
to  any  extent,  as  the  application  of  it  is  attended  with  consider- 
able hazard.  If  too  heavily  applied,  it  will  not  only  diminish, 
but  completely  check  vegetation.  Experience  is  entirely  op- 
posed to  the  indiscriminate  application  of  common  salt  in  any 
considerable  quantity  to  land. 

Potassa,  (potash,)  acid,  and  forming  the  well  known  sub- 
stance saltpetre,  has  been  employed  as  a  manure,  and  appa- 
rently with  very  good  effect.  It  is  found  in  greater  or  less 
quantities  in  all  vegetables;  soda,  generally  in  plants  growing 
near  the  sea,  (sea-weeds,  as  we  have  seen,  form  a  good  but  not 
a  lasting  manure,)  or  in  soils  impregnated  with  marine  salt. 
The  saline  combinations  of  potash  are  expensive,  and  this  is 
probably  one  great  objection  to  their  general  use;  for,  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  potassa,  like  lime,  exercises  a  certain  in- 
fluence on  the  soil,  by  rendering  soluble,  certain  substances 
which  were  insoluble. 

Some  persons  are  of  opinion  that  the  astonishing  effect  pro- 
duced on  vegetation  by  the  application  of  the  green-sand  or 
marl  of  New  Jersey,  and  othfer  localities,  is  in  due  proportion 
to  the  predominance  of  potash  in  its  composition,  without  re- 
ference to  the  other  ingredients  which  are  in  combination  with 
it.  Sure  it  is,  that  marl,  in  which  neither  lime  nor  potash  is 
present,  is  considered  valueless. 

Potash  was  known  to  the  ancient  Gauls  and  Germans,  and 
soda  was  familiar  to  the  Greeks  and  Hebrevvs.  This  latter 
substance,  which  is  found  native  in  Egypt,  and  is  there  called 
natron,  was  known  to  the  ancients  by  the  name  of  nitrum. 

The  whole  subject  or  range  of  saline  manures,  it  is  to  be 
observed,  deserves  more  extended  investigation  than  it  has  yet 
obtained.  That  all  saline  bodies  which  exist  habitually  in 
plants  are  beneficial  to  vegetation,  we  may  almost,  from  analo- 
gy, infer.  We  see  this  in  the  case  of  the  carbonate  of  lime, 
the  sulphate  of  lime,  and  the  phosphate  of  lime,  and  it  is  not 
unreasonable  to  infer  that  all  saline  bodies  which  exist  in  plants 
in  their  common  state,  may  be  employed  as  manures. 

The  knowledge  in  which  we  are  now  deficient,  regards  the 
quantity  in  which  these  substances  should  be  applied.  The 
carbonate  of  lime  is  that  in  which  it  appears  the  greatest  lati- 
tude may  be  given.  The  sulphate  of  lime  acts  in  smaller 
quantity,  and  so  likewise  does  the  phosphate. 

Common  salt,  supplied  in  small  quantities  in  manures,  pro- 
motes vegetation,  while  a  larger  quantity  is  injurious;  and  the 


gQ  ,  MANURES. 

sulphate  of  iron,  a  substance  poisonous  in  excess,  if  applied  in 
the  quantity  suited  to  the  wants  of  plants,  seems  eminently 
calculated  to  promote  the  vegetation  of  the  plants,  and  the 
fertility  of  the  soil. 

Ashes  of  every  description,  including  soaper's  waste,  though 
not  all  falling  strictly  under  the  character  of  fossil  substances, 
and,  indeed,  being  partly  derived  from  the  vegetable  kingdom, 
yet,  partaking  in  a  great  degree  of  the  same  calcareous  nature 
as  those  of  which  we  have  already  treated,  may  also  be  allow- 
ed to  rank  together  under  the  general  denomination  of  mineral 
manures. 


IV.    MIXED  MANURES. 

This  class  of  manures  consists  of  those  derived  partly  from 
organic  and  partly  from  mineral  substances.  Ashes  of  fuel 
of  different  kinds  used  for  domestic  and  other  purposes,  may 
be  said  to  be  of  this  class.  Ashes  of  anthracite  coal  are  to  be 
regarded  as  a  manure  of  very  inferior  quality,  its  principal 
virtue  consisting  in  the  ashes  of  wood,  &c,,  of  which  it  most 
generally  contains  a  portion,  with  various  other  extraneous 
substances. 

Coal  ashes,  however,  have  been  found  highly  serviceable, 
when  applied  in  sufficient  quantity  to  tenacious  or  stiff"  and 
clayey  soils,  and  are  therefore  valuable  in  cities  and  large 
towns,  if  soils  of  this  description  abound  in  the  vicinity.  They 
have  been  applied  in  large  quantities  to  clayey  lands  in  the 
vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  with  manifest  advantage.  One  of  the 
shrewd,  intelligent,  money-making  farmers  of  the  county, 
assured  the  editor  that  he  had  experienceil  great  benefit  by 
top-dressing  his  grass  lands  with  coal  ashes,  previously  sifted.* 

Soot  is  frequently  applied  in  its  unmixed  state  as  a  manure. 
Its  base  is  charcoal,  and  it  is  advantageously  spread  upon  all 
soils,  and  in  an  especial  manner  upon  land  in  grass. 

The  sweepings  of  roads  are  frequently  used  as  a  manure, 


*  This  gentleman  said  he  obtained  several  hundred  bushels  of  the  ashes, 
which  cost  him  nothing  in  the  city;  they  Avere  also  generally  return  loads. 
They  were  always  put  under  cover,  sifted  in  rainy  weather,  and  applied  to 
ihe  land  as  occasion  required.  His  planls  and  vines  were  regularly  dusted 
with  the  sifted  ashes,  and  almost  generally  escaped  the  ravages  of  insects. 
But  there  was  another  advantage  connected  witii  this  operation,  which  did 
not  occur  to  him  until  he  commenced  sifting  the  ashes.  He  found  large  quan- 
tities of  unconsumed  coal;  most  of  it,  to  be  sure,  partially  burnt,  but  still  suffi- 
cient both  in  quantity  and  quality  to  keep  him  in  two  coal  fires  throughout  the 
sea.son. 


MANURES.  61 

and  may  be  always  capable  of  being  rendered  so  by  being  fer- 
mented with  lime.  They  consist  of  various  minerals,  ground, 
or  very  finely  pulverized,  by  the  action  of  carriages.  They 
form  mud  in  wet  weather;  and  where  the  country  is  thickly 
settled,  they  are  inuch  mixed  with  animal  and  vegetable 
matter. 

Street  manure,  or  the  general  refuse  of  towns,  is  a  very 
compound  substance,  and  of  great  importance  to  the  fertility 
of  the  adjacent  country.  It  consists  of  all  kinds  of  offal,  of  the 
refuse  of  manufactories,  of  litter  and  the  dung  of  animals,  and 
a  large  quantity  of  ashes  and  vegetable  substances. 

This  species  of  manure  is  much  valued,  though  it  is  far 
inferior  to  well  rotted  dung,  the  produce  of  the  farm-yard. 
In  every  town  this  substance  ought  to  be  carefully  collected 
for  the  supply  of  the  neighbouring  country. 

There  is  a  method  of  increasing  the  quantity  of  manures 
upon  a  farm,  which  should  in  no  case  be  neglected.  This  is 
by  forming  composts,  which,  as  the  name  denotes,  are  a  mix- 
ture of  substances,  [see  page  30.]  If  dung,  or  any  vegetable 
or  animal  substance,  be  mixed  with  the  earth,  the  latter  will 
imbibe  a  portion  of  the  decomposing  matter,  and  become  itself 
fitted  to  be  used  as  a  manure. 

The  earthy  and  putrescent  matters  may  be  laid  in  layers, 
the  earthy  covering  the  putrescent,  so  as  to  prevent  the  loss  of 
gaseous  matter  by  evaporation.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to 
observe  the  precise  order  of  layers,  since  the  substances  may 
be  mixed  together  v/henever  they  can  be  conveniently  col- 
lected. 

There  should  be  at  least  one  heap  of  this  kind  upon  every 
farm,  as  a  general  receptacle  for  all  substances  capable  of  being 
fermented,  which  may  from  time  to  time  be  procured.  Urine, 
soapsuds,  and  the  like,  poured  upon  such  a  heap,  will  be  found 
to  be  very  beneficial;  and  lime,  in  small  portions,  may  be 
mixed  with  it.  The  whole  should  be  thoroughly  turned  over 
several  times,  so  as  to  mix  the  materials  together  and  promote 
fermentation. 

Of  the  nature  of  composts,  also,  are  those  mixtures  of  lime 
with  weeds,  the  mud  of  ponds,  ditches,  creeks,  rivers,  and  the 
like,  to  which  reference  has  been  already  made.  No  oppor- 
tunity should  be  omitted  of  making  manure  by  this  method. 

The  management  of  composts  of  all  kinds  is  exceedingly 
easy.  The  knowledge  that  every  sort  of  putrescent  refuse 
may  be  mixed  with  earthy  substances,  that  lime  acts  bene- 
ficially in  fermenting  the  mass,  that  frequent  turning  mixes 
the  substances  together  and  produces  the  action  required,  are 
sufficient  to  guide  the  farmer  in  all  cases  in  this  simple  but 
very  important  branch  of  farm  economy. 
6 


62 


III.— SIMPLE  OPERATIONS  OF  TILLAGE.* 

L    PLOUGHING. 

In  ploughing,  a  slice  of  earth  is  to  be  cut  from  the  left  hand 
side,  and  to  be  turned  over  to  the  right  hand  side.  In  this 
operation  the  left  hand  or  near  side  horse  walks  on  the  ground 
not  yet  ploughed;  the  right  hand  or  off  side  horse  walks  in 
the  furrow  last  made,  and  the  workman  follows,  holding  the 
handles  of  the  plough. 

By  means  of  these  handles  he  guides  the  plough,  while  he 
directs  the  animals  of  draught  by  the  voice  and  the  reins. 
When  he  is  to  turn  the  plough  at  the  end  of  a  furrow,  or  when 
it  encounters  an  obstacle,  such  as  a  large  stone,  he  presses  down 
the  handles,  so  that  the  heel  of  the  plough  becomes  a  fulcrum, 
and  the  share  is  raised  out  of  the  ground. 

As  the  perfection  of  good  ploughing  can  only  be  atttained 
hy  practice,  it  must  be  evident  that  nothing  like  a  system  can 
be  framed  for  the  operation  on  every  diversity  of  soil.  The 
following  rules,  partly  those  of  that  eminent  agriculturist,  the 
late  Mr.  Finlatson,  who  was  himself  an  expert  practical 
ploughman,  may  be  laid  down  as  worthy  of  being  observed  by 
every  man  who  intends  to  become  a  proficient  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  work. 

The  horses  should  be  harnessed  as  near  to  the  plough  as  they 
can  be  placed  without  impeding  the  freedom  of  the  step — for 
the  closer  they  are  to  the  point  of  draught,  the  less  exertion 
will  be  required  to  overcome  the  resistance. 

When  ploughing  with  a  pair  abreast,  the  most  forward  and 
powerful  horse  should  be  worked  in  the  furrow.  But  if  the 
team  be  harnessed  in  line,  and  there  be  any  difference  in  the 
height  of  the  cattle,  the  tallest  sbould  be  put  foremost,  if  he  be 
in  every  other  respect  equal  to  the  other. 

When  at  work,  they  should  be  kept  at  as  regular  and  good 
a  pace  as  the  nature  of  the  work  may  permit;  for  they  are 
then  more  manageable,  and  the  draft  easier  than  when  slow. 
By  due  attention  to  this,  the  heavy  soil  will  also  cling  less  to 
the  coulter,  and  the  land  will  be  found  to  work  more  freely. 

The  breadth  and  depth  of  the  furrow  being  ascertained,  the 
plough  should  be  held  upright,  bearing  equally  all  along  on  a 

[*  According  to  our  arrangement,  Chapter  III.  on  Agricultural  Implements 
should  precede  this  chapter,  but  the  iJlustiations  of  some  of  the  implements 
noticed,  not  being  at  hand,  that  chapter  will  appear  in  a  subsequent  part  of  the 
volume.] 


SIMPLE  OPERATIONS  OP  TILLAGE.  53 

straight  sole,  and  be  made  to  move  forward  in  a  regular  line, 
without  swerving  to  either  side.  The  edge  of  the  coulter  should 
also  be  set  directly  forward,  so  that  the  land  side  of  it  may  run 
on  a  parallel  line  with  the  land  side  of  the  head,  and  in  such  a 
position  that  their  slant,  or  sweep,  may  exactly  correspond. 

The  ploughman  should  walk  with  his  body  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible upright,  without  leaning  on  the  stilts  or  handles,  and  with- 
out using  force  to  any  part,  further  than  may  be  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  the  implement  steadily  in  a  direct  line.  He 
should  also  be  sparing  of  his  voice  and  of  correction  to  the 
team — of  the  former,  because  too  much  cheering  and  ordering 
only  confuses  the  cattle— and  of  the  latter,  because  punishir^ent, 
when  often  repeated,  at  length  ceases  to  have  due  effect,  and 
thus  leads  to  unnecessary  beating.  These  are  the  rules  or  prin- 
ciples laid  down  by  Mr.  Finlayson  and  others. 

It  must  be  apparent  that,  as  every  kind  of  soil  has  its  appro- 
priate qualities,  each  requires  a  peculiar  mode  of  tillage.  Plough- 
ing, which  is  the  chief  operation,  ought  therefore  to  be  executed 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  land,  and  not  performed  upon 
any  one  invariable  principle. 

On  strong  clays  and  loams,  and  other  soils  of  a  deep  or  rich 
staple,  the  plough  should  go  to  a  considerable  depth;  whereas, 
on  thin  clays  and  sands,  the  benefit  of  deep  ploughing  is  very 
questionable,  especially  when  incumbent  on  a  sterile  sub-soil. 
On  each  description  of  land,  distinct  modes  of  operation,  and 
implements  of  different  construction,  are  therefore  absolutely 
necessary. 

Very  opposite  opinions  are  entertained  by  many  eminent 
farmers  regarding  the  proper  depth  of  ploughing.  But  as 
yet,  the  application  of  deep  or  shallow  tillage,  to  various  soils 
respectively,  has  not  been  ascertained  upon  any  settled  prin- 
ciple. 

The  proj)er  depth  of  ploughing  must  necessarily  depend 
upon  the  nature  of  the  soil;  but  although  every  intelligent 
husbandman  must  be  aware  of  the  superiority  of  those  of  a 
deep  staple  over  those  which  are  shallow,  still  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  the  effects  of 
ploughing  deeply  into  land,  the  vegetative  stratum  of  which  is 
of  nearly  equal  fertility  throughout,  and  that  of  augmenting  a 
shallow  surface  of  fertile  soil,  by  mixing  it  up  with  a  sub-soil 
of  inferior  quality. 

Soils  of  the  very  best  quality,  may  be  completely  exhausted 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  by  shallow  ploughing;  so  on  the 
other  hand,  soils  of  an  inferior  quality,  by  a  judicious  system 
of  ploughing,  as  has  been  already  remarked,  may  be  greatly 


64  SIMPLE  OPERATIONS  OP  TILLAGE. 

improved  in  the  staple.  This  course  is  recommended  to  in- 
crease the  depth  of  the  soil  of  uplands. 

Considerable  diversity  of  opinion  prevails  among  practical 
and  scientific  farmers,  as  to  the  best  mode  of  ploughing. 
Until  within  a  few  years,  it  was  the  universal  practice,  with 
perhaps  an  occasional  exception,  to  throw  the  furrow  at  an 
angle  of  about  45°  (degrees). 

The  advocates  of  the  level  system  of  ploughing,  are,  how- 
ever, increasing.  We  do  not  say  that  this  method  is  prefer- 
able to  ridge  ploughing  on  all  occasions;  very  stiff  and  wet 
lands  may  form  an  exception;  but  it  appears  to  us  reasonable 
that  this  process  leaves  the  land  in  the  best  form  for  the  after 
tillage,  and  by  covering  all  stubble  and  green  crop  completely 
under,  and  leaving  the  surface  level,  light  and  friable,  fits  it 
for  the  production  of  good  crops,  requiring  less  strength  of 
team  to  draw  the  plough,  and  less  effort  of  the  ploughman  to 
govern  it. 

William  Buckminster,  an  eminent  farmer  near  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  thus  speaks  of  the  latter  method. — "The  best 
ploughing  is  that  which  most  completely  subverts  the  soil  and 
buries  beneath  it  the  entire  vegetable  growth.  To  effect  this 
a  good  plough  is  indispensable.  Rough  and  stony  ground  may 
indeed  be  rooted  up  by  the  short  rooter  plough.  Such  lands 
are  usually  cross-ploughed  before  planting. — Plain  fields  re- 
quire a  different  instrument;  a  much  longer  plough  is  wanted 
here,  to  turn  the  furrow  flat  without  breaking,  and  without  the 
aid  of  the  ploughman's  foot.  Such  an  instrument  runs  easier 
than  a  short  one,  because  it  enters  the  earth  more  gradually, 
as  a  thin  wedge  opens  wood  more  easily  than  a  thick  one. 
The  furrow  rises  less  suddenly  on  the  inclined  plane  of  the 
mould  board,  and  falls  where  it  should  do,  in  the  bed  of  the 
preceding  furrow,  and  completely  fills  it.  To  make  sure  work, 
the  coulter  or  cutter  should  not  stand  perpendicular,  but  should 
lean  to  the  right,  being  placed  a  little  anglewise  in  the  beam 
for  this  purpose,  and  cutting  the  edge  of  the  furrow  slice  in  a 
bevil  form,  it  will  then  shut  in  like  a  trap  door.  Let  not  my 
brother  farmers  be  alarmed  lest  their  lands  should  be  turned 
too  flat!  If  they  wish  to  see  them  lie  edge  up,  or  shingled, 
one  furrow  upon  another,  or  broken  into  short  junks,  they  can 
use  a  short  rooter  or  a  post,  as  the  Africans  do.  'But,'  say 
they,  'the  soil  should  be  light. ^  Newly  ploughed  greensward 
always  lies  too  light  the  first  summer  and  requires  thorough 
rolling  and  harrowing,  to  prevent  its  suffering  for  want  of 
moisture;  for  unless  the  particles  of  earth,  &c.  come  in  con- 
tact, capillary  attraction  ceases  and  the  turned  sod  draws  no 


SIMPLE  OPERATIONS  OF  TILLAGE.  55 

moisture  from  the  sub-soil.     Hence  our  crops,  in  a  dry  season, 
suffer  more  on  greensward  than  on  old  ground. 

"There  is  no  danger  in  laying  the  greensward  furrow  too 
flat,  if  turned,  as  it  always  should  be,  when  the  grass  is  green; 
that  and  the  roots  soon  begin  to  decay,  and  in  our  summer 
months  your  horses  will  break  through  th'^  sod  in  passing,  and 
demonstrate  to  you  that  the  furrow  does  not  lie  close  enough. 

"The  advantages  arising  from  this  mode  are,  we  cover  up 
and  set  to  fermenting  the  whole  mass  of  vegetable  matter  that 
covered  the  soil — we  destroy  all  the  noxious  weeds — we  ren- 
der the  surface  smooth  and  much  more  easy  to  manage,  and 
we  avoid  making  loose  and  broken  sods  in  seeding  down  to 
grass — for  the  furrow  thus  laid  flat  should  never  be  disturbed 
till  a  new  breaking  up  after  a  course  of  grass  crops.  If  seeded 
down  to  grass  in  this  state  it  will  not  lie  so  heavy,  and  will  not 
■want  to  be  disturbed  again  so  soon  as  if  it  had  been  completely 
pulverized  before  seeding.  Ploughs  for  our  plains  should, 
therefore,  be  made  long — they  run  more  steady  and  cut  the 
furrows  more  true:  and  it  is  not  greensward  only  that  should 
be  turned  flat — stubble  land,  weedy  lands,  and  cornhills,  should 
be  turned  flat,  and  that  only  once  till  the  matter  turned  under- 
neath is  decomposed.  In  preparing  corn  land  for  spring  sow- 
ing, therefore,  a  heavy  harrow  should  be  first  used.  Make 
the  surface  as  level  as  possible  with  this,  then  let  the  plough 
turn  the  soil  once  over  and  no  more  before  sowing.  This  fur- 
row may  be  as  fine  as  you  choose,  but  when  once  you  have 
turned  this  mass  of  stalks,  of  weeds,  and  grass  underneath,  it 
is  absurd  to  disturb  it  during  the  same  week  or  month — we  do 
much  injury  by  ploughing  too  often — we  undo  our  own  work." 

A  practice  has  long  prevailed  in  almost  every  country,  of 
formino;  the  ground  into  what  are  termed  ridges,  so  as  to 
admit  of  the  water  which  falls  upon  its  surface  finding  a  ready 
egress.  This  method  is  deemed  necessary  in  all  moist  or  wet 
countries;  and  even  in  lands  so  dry  that  little  or  no  injury  will 
result  from  stagnating  water:  such  ridges  are  generally  formed 
on  account  of  their  convenience  in  the  different  works  of  til- 
lage. 

The  direction  of  ridges  must  generally  be  regulated  by  the 
sloping  of  the  fields,  and  the  lying  of  ditches  and  fences,  so 
that  they  may  promote  the  main  purpose  for  wiiich  they  are 
formed,  the  carrying  ofi'  of  surface  water.  But,  other  circum- 
stances being  alike,  they  should  be  made  to  lie  as  much  as  pos- 
sible north  and  south;  and  never,  when  it  can  be  avoided,  east 
and  west;  for,  in  the  latter  case,  when  the  ridges  are  much 
elevated,  the  north  side  has  a  somewhat  less  favourable  expo- 
sure than  the  south  side. 
6* 


QQ  SIMPLE  OPERATIONS  OF  TILLAGE. 

A  very  intelligent  young  farmer  of  Chester  county,  J.  A.,  speaking  of 
ploughing,  says:— '-Ground  to  be  left  in  a  handsome  condition  after  ploughing, 
should,  in  all  cases,  be  ploughed  in  as  large  lands  as  possible,  for  the  fewer 
open  furrows  left  in  a  field  the  better — say  in  a  twelve  or  sixteen  acre  field, 
not  more  than  three  or  four.  If  a  field  is  to  be  ploughed  twice  in  succession, 
in  the  same  direction,  the  commencement  of  the  lands  in  the  second  ploughing, 
should  be  at  the  place  of  finishing  them  in  the  first  ploughing.  This  will 
completely  fill  the  old  furrows,  and  prevent  any  increase  in  their  number. 
But  if  the  field  is  to  be  ploughed  in  a  direction  transverse  to  the  former  plough- 
ing, the  old  furrows  should,  before  commencing  it,  be  filled  by  ploughing  into 
them  about  four  furrows,  that  is,  two  rounds.  This  will  keep  the  land  com- 
pletely level,  which  is  far  preferable  to  ploughing  it  in  small  lands.  By 
ploughing  in  small  lands,  the  field  will  be  thrown  up  into  a  great  number  of 
ridges,  and  consequently,  a  corresponding  number  of  hollows.  This  will  not 
only  expose  it  much  more  to  the  action  of  heavy  rains  and  floods,  but  it  will 
produce  its  crops  very  unevenly,  heavy  on  the  ridges,  and  dwindling  in  the 
furrows;  but  by  keeping  the  surface  level  and  even,  the  crops  will  be  uniform 
over  the  field;  nor  will  it  be  exposed  so  much  to  the  danger  of  being  washed 
into  gulleys  by  heavy  rains. 

"I  would  further  suggest,  that  if  the  field  has  any  declivity,  to  prevent  any 
action  from  heavy  rains,  that  the  last  ploughing  given  it  previous  to  laying 
any  length  of  time,  be  in  a  direction  as  near  as  possible  at  right  angles  to  the 
descent  of  the  hill." 


II.     HARROWING. 

The  next  of  the  simple  operations  of  tillage  is  that  of  har- 
rowing. One  man  or  boy  drives  a  pair  of  horses  and  a  pair 
of  harrows* — though  sometimes  one  person  drives  three  horses 
and  three  harrows.  The  driver  walks  behind  with  long  reins, 
which  enable  him  to  guide  and  urge  forward  the  horses;  and 
he  must  be  ready  to  lift  up  with  his  hand  or  a  crooked  stick, 
which  he  holds  for  the  purpose,  the  harrows  when  they  are 
impeded  by  roots,  weeds,  or  other  substances.  By  lifting  up 
the  harrow  while  in  motion,  the  weeds  collected  by  the  teeth, 
fall  down. 

This  process  is  of  essential  use  in  the  culture  of  arable  lands. 
By  it  the  soil  is  more  thoroughly  pulverized;  wet  weeds,  near 
the  surface,  are  torn  out  and  collected;  and  the  manure  is  more 
intimately  mixed  with  the  soil.  Harrowing  is  given  in  different 
directions.  First  in  length,  then  across,  and  finally  in  length 
as  at  first. 

Besides  the  clearing  of  the  ground,  a  purpose  in  harrowing 
is  to  cover  the  seeds  of  cultivated  plants.  The  number  of  har- 
rowings  to  be  given  for  this  end  depends  upon  the  state  of  the 
ground  and  other  circumstances.  When  the  surface  is  matted 
together  by  the  roots  of  plants,  as  in  the  case  of  land  ploughed 
when  in  grass,  repeated  turns  are  required  to  cover  the  seeds 

*  Formerly,  and  still  in  many  sections,  the  single  harrow  alone  is  used. 


SIMPLE  OPERATIONS  OF  TILLAGE.  Q^ 

in  a  proper  manner.  But  when  the  land  is  already  pulverized, 
a  small  degree  of  labour  is  required.  Sometimes  a  single  turn 
will  suffice.  This  is  especially  the  case  when  the  smaller  seeds 
of  grains  and  grasses  are  sown. 

The  operation  of  harrowing  is  best  performed  when  the  land 
is  moderately  dry,  and  in  the  mornings  while  the  dew  is  on. 
When  the  land  is  wet,  harrowing  is  as  much  as  possible  to  be 
avoided,  as  well  on  account  of  the  less  efficacy  of  the  opera- 
tion, as  the  injury  done  the  ground  by  the  treading  of  the 
cattle. 

Harrowing  of  meadow-lands  when  they  become  bound,  or 
cold  and  mossy,  is  of  essential  service,  and  will  render  them 
much  more  productive  the  following  year.  The  most  suitable 
period  is  the  spring,  while  the  ground  is  soft.  But  if  the  mea- 
dow be  too  wet  for  spring  harrowing,  it  may  be  deferred  to  the 
drier  part  of  fall.  In  such  cases,  a  suitable  top-dressing  before 
the  performance  of  the  operation,  would  be  found  highly  advan- 
tageous. 


in.    ROLLING. 

The  Boiler  is  employed  upon  the  farm  to  smooth  and  con- 
solidate the  surface  of  land  in  crop  or  grass,  and  for  passing 
over  grounds  newly  sown  with  grain,  or  that  are  to  be  laid 
down  to  grass.  The  great  importance  of  the  roller  has  not, 
heretofore,  been  properly  appreciated  by  our  farmers — but,  we 
are  happy  to  say,  it  is  now  coming  into  very  general  use. 

All  grass  lands  where  the  frost  has,  during  the  preceding 
winter,  raised  part  of  the  roots  out  of  the  ground,  require  the 
roller  to  be  passed  over  them  in  the  spring,  and  many  persons, 
whose  testimony  is  entitled  to  great  respect,  recommend  its 
use  upon  all  lands  in  the  spring,  where  grain  had  been  pre- 
viously sown,  or  corn  planted,  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  the 
clods,  preventing  injury  from  extreme  dry  weather,  and  caus- 
ing the  grain  to  be  collected  in  harvest  with  less  difficulty.* 

It  is  of  great  service  in  mowing  grounds,  by  pressing  the 
small  stones  into  the  ground,  which  would  otherwise  interfere 
with  the  scythe  in  mowing,  as  well  as  by  levelling  the  weeds. 
Grain,  which  has  been  frozen  out  during  the  winter,  may  be 
essentially  benefitted  by  passing  the  roller  over  it,  and  thereby 
bringing  the  fibres  of  the  roots  in  contact  with  the  earth  again. 

The  roller  may  also  be  used  to  great  advantage  on  any  sod 

*  Farmers'  Cabinet,  vol.  i,  page  292. 


gg  SIMPLE  OPERATIONS  OP  TILLAGE. 

after  being  ploughed,  by  making  the  ground  more  compact, 
which  will  facilitate  the  decomposition  of  the  sod,  and  render 
it  less  liable  to  suffer  from  the  effects  of  drought.  In  corn 
ground,  in  addition  to  the  above,  it  prevents  the  furrows  from 
being  moved  by  the  cultivator  in  the  dressing  of  the  corn,  and 
places  the  ground  in  much  finer  tilth  than  it  would  otherwise 
be,  with  the  same  labour,  without  it. 

In  rolling  grass  lands  it  is  necessary  to  attend,  in  a  particular 
manner,  to  the  condition  of  the  surface  to  be  rolled — if  too  wet, 
the  ground  will  be  poached  by  the  cattle's  hoofs;  and  if  too  dry, 
little  or  no  impression  will  be  made  by  the  roller  in  levelling 
the  inequalities. 


IV.    DIGGING. 


The  plough,  the  harrow,  and  the  roller,  are  the  essential 
implements  of  preparatory  tillage.  To  these,  however,  and 
the  plough  coulter,  may  be  added  the  Spade;  which,  though 
properly  the  instrument  of  culture  in  the  garden,  may  be  em- 
ployed occasionally  in  the  field. 

Cultivation  by  the  spade,  however,  though  more  eflficient,  is 
greatly  more  expensive  than  by  the  plough.  It  may  be  some- 
times employed  with  advantage,  though  rarely  on  a  great 
scale,  where  the  profit  depends  upon  economy  of  labour. 


69 


IV.— PREPARATION  OF  LAND  FOR  TILLAGE. 

I.    FALLOWING. 

Fallowing  in  agriculture  is  the  mode  of  preparing  land,  by- 
ploughing  it  a  considerable  time,  before  it  is  ploughed  for  seed. 
Lands  are  laid  fallow  either  during  the  summer,  or  during  the 
winter,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  judgment  of 
the  cultivator. 

By  a  fallow  is  understood  a  portion  of  land  on  which  no  seed 
is  sown  for  a  given  period — usually  a  year.  The  object  is  the 
exposure  of  the  soil  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere — the  de- 
struction of  noxious  weeds,  &c.,  by  the  frequent  ploughings  and 
harrowings  to  which  the  field  is  subject.  By  many  it  is  sup- 
posed that  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  increased  by  this  process, 
and  at  an  expense  much  less  than  could  be  accomplished  by  the 
application  of  manures. 

The  practice  has  existed  from  the  earliest  ages.  The  Ro- 
mans with  their  agriculture  introduced  fallows  in  every  part  of 
Europe,  where  it  is  generally  in  universal  practice,  with  the 
exception  of  Great  Britain.  But  as  a  crop  was  lost  every  year 
they  occurred,  a  powerful  aversion  to  naked  fallows  arose, 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  in  which  some  of  the 
ablest  cultivators  of  the  day  entered  the  lists,  and  exhausted, 
perhaps,  all  the  legitimate  arguments  on  both  sides.  Arthur 
Young  laboured  assiduously  to  substitute  fallow  crops  for  the 
naked  fallows  then  in  general  use. 

Yet  the  practice  does  not  appear  to  have  given  way,  but 
rather  to  have  extended  on  wet  tenacious  clays — and  it  is  on  such 
grounds  only  that  any  one  now  contends  for  the  advantages  of 
fallowing.  The  expediency  or  inexpediency  of  pulverizing  and 
clearing  the  soil  by  a  bare  fallow,  is  a  question  that  can  be  de- 
termined only  by  experience,  and  not  by  argument. 

The  principal  advocates  of  fallowing  at  the  present  day,  con- 
tend for  it  only  on  heavy  soils,  which  they  say  it  is  often  im- 
possible to  keep  free  of  weeds — in  wet  climates — and  unfa- 
vourable seasons.  Under  draining,  where  the  soil  is  cold  and 
wet,  is  to  be  recommended,  and  the  whole  process  of  draining 
and  fallowing  to  be  effectually  done.  By  this  means  the  suc- 
ceeding crop  will  be  ample,  and  the  subsequent  produce  of 
clover  equally  so.  Yet  their  advice  to  the  cultivator  is — Avoid 
fallowing,  if  you  can  keep  your  land  clear;  but  when  you  fal- 
low, do  it  effectually,  and  improve  the  soil  at  the  sarne  time, 


70  PREPARATION  OP  LAND  FOR  TILLAGE. 

by  the  application  of  lime,  marl,  &c.,  as  circumstances  may 
enable  you  to  do.  In  dry  weather,  spare  neither  the  plough 
nor  harrow.  The  stitches  must,  before  winter,  be  laid  high 
and  dry,  and  the  water  furrows  made  fair  by  the  spade  or  some 
suitable  implement.  By  this  process  it  is  asserted  that  the 
stifFest  land  may  be  brought  into  a  state  of  high  cultivation. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  climate  of  Great  Britain  is 
essentially  different  from  that  of  every  part  of  this  country; 
our  summers  are  much  warmer,  and  our  atmosphere  much 
drier.  Nor  do  the  cold  and  stiff  soils,  which  compose  three- 
fourtbs  of  that  island,  abound  extensively  in  the  United  States; 
though  mostly,  where  prevalent,  in  the  northern  part.* 

On  the  whole,  it  may  be  set  down  as  a  general  rule,  that 
summer  fallowings  are  not  necessary  in  this  country — certainly 
not  on  any  smooth,  level  and  dry  soil;  and  in  no  case  where 
a  suitable  rotation  of  crops  can  be  followed. 

Fallowing  was  necessary  as  long  as  grains  only,  all  of  which 
exhaust  the  soil,  were  cultivated;  during  the  intervals  of  tilling 
the  fields,  a  variety  of  herbs  grew  in  them,  which  afford  food 
for  animals,  and  the  roots  of  which,  when  buried  in  the  soil  by 
the  plough,  furnished  a  great  part  of  the  necessary  manure. 
But  at  this  day,  when  we  have  succeeded  in  establishing  the 
cultivation  of  a  great  variety  of  roots  and  artificial  grasses,  the 
system  of  naked  fallowing  can  be  no  longer  supported  by  the 
shadow  of  a  good  reason. 

The  scarcity  of  dung  occasioned  by  the  limited  number  of 
cattle  that  could  formerly  be  maintained  upon  a  farm,  caused 
the  custom  of  fallowing  to  be  continued;  but  the  ease  with 
which  fodder  may  now  be  cultivated,  furnishes  the  means  of 
supporting  an  increased  number  of  animals — those  in  their  turn 
supply  manure  and  labour — and  the  farmer  is  no  longer  under 
the  necessity  of  allowing  his  lands  to  lie  fallow. 

Artificial  grass  lands  ought  now  to  be  considered  as  forming 
the  basis  of  good  agriculture.  These  furnish  fodder,  the  fod- 
der supports  cattle,  and  the  cattle  furnish  manure,  labour,  and 
all  the  means  necessary  to  a  thorough  system  of  cultivation. 

The  suppression  of  the  practice  of  fallowing,  is  then  equally 
serviceable  to  the  cultivator,  who  increases  his  productions 
without  proportionally  increasing  his  expenses;  and  to  society, 
which  derives  from  the  same  extent  of  soil,  a  much  greater 
quantity  of  food,  and  additional  resources  for  supply. 

*  Our  American  farms  are  from  ten  to  fifteen  degrees  south  of  the  farms  of 
England,  yet  so  keen  are  our  frosts,  and  so  sudden  and  frequent  are  the  changes 
from  thaw  to  frost,  that  common  turnips  do  not  stand  the  winter  in  our  fields. 
The  climate  and  the  soil  of  America  may  be  believed  to  differ  greatly  from 
those  of  England.— 7?or£Z;ey'5  Husbandry. 


PREPARATION  OP  LAND  FOR  TILLAGE.  7^ 

II.    LEVELLING  GROUND  AND  REMOVING  OBSTRUCTIONS  TO 
TILLAGE. 

The  most  frequent  impediments  to  the  common  operations 
of  tillage  are,  swamps,  inequalities  of  the  surface,  stones,  the 
roots  of  trees,  and  the  like.  The  curing  or  removing  of 
swamps  is  a  branch  of  draining.*  The  levelling  of  ground, 
and  the  removal  of  stones,  and  similar  obstructions,  are  to  be 
attended  to  in  common  operations  of  tillage. 

When  the  surface  of  ground  is  unequal,  the  plough  will  suf- 
fice for  levelling  it  in  common  cases  of  tillage.  The  plough 
is  made  to  act  in  this  case  by  repeated  cleavings  of  the  land  to 
be  levelled.  Frequently,  the  surface  is  previously  removed 
by  the  spade,  so  that  the  soil  may  be  replaced  upon  the  new 
surface  after  it  has  been  rendered  level.  In  some  cases, 
machines,  constructed  for  the  purpose,  are  employed  in  the 
levellina;  of  ground. 


III.    PARING  AND  BURNING. 

The  process  of  paring  and  burning,  consists  in  paring  off, 
by  means  of  a  spade  or  plough,  the  sward  or  turf  of  the  soil, 
and  burning  it  either  in  heaps,  or  by  setting  fire  to  the  turfs  on 
edge,  and  then  spreading  the  ashes  upon  the  surface. 

The  process  must  be  performed  while  the  weather  is  suffi- 
ciently dry  to  allow  of  the  combustion  of  the  turf.  It  may 
be  begun  in  the  month  of  April,  or  if  the  weather  be  dry  and 
suitable,  earlier,  and  may  be  continued  throughout  the  sum- 
mer, as  convenience,  or  the  state  of  the  weather,  allows. 

Burning,  especially  if  it  be  judiciously  conducted,  com- 
pletely changes  the  nature  of  a  soil,  and  corrects  the  greater 
part  of  its  imperfections.  Count  Chaptal,  we  believe  we  can 
quote  no  better  or  higher  authority,  states,  that  by  these  means 
he  gave  to  agriculture  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land 
reported  sterile,  formed  almost  entirely  of  a  ferruginous  and 
very  compact  clay.  The  burning  extended  to  the  depth  of 
four  inches.  Previous  to  the  operation,  its  sterility  was  so 
great,  that  it  was  known  as  the  Jew's-heath;  but  for  twelve 
years  immediately  succeeding  the  operation,  it  produced  good, 
though  not  very  productive  crops. 

Burning  is  hurtful  to  calcareous  and  light  lands,  to  soils 
of  which  the  composition  is  perfect,  and  to  fertile  lands,  rich 
in  decomposed  animal  and  vegetable  substances.     It  is  useless 

♦  See  article  Draining,  and  also  Appendix,  letter  D. 


72  PREPARATION  OF  LAND  FOR  TILLAGE. 

to  soils  purely  siliceous,  for  these  can  receive  no  modification 
from  the  action  of  fire. 

When  the  soil  is  in  a  wild,  uncultivated  state,  and  its  vege- 
tative powers  in  a  great  measure  dormant  and  inactive,  they 
cannot  be  called  into  full  action  without  some  stimulus.  In 
that  case,  the  ashes  produced  by  sod-burning,  with  the  aid  of 
lime,  are  generally  necessary  and  always  effectual. 

When  land  covered  with  thick-tufted  coarse  grass  is  broken 
up  and  sown,  the  old  rubbish  carries  most  of  the  moisture  from 
the  seed,  and  proves  a  harbour  for  grubs,  slugs,  and  other  ver- 
min; whereas  when  the  turf  is  burnt,  these  enemies  to  culti- 
vation are  destroyed,  the  causes  of  sterility  are  removed,  and 
in  its  stead  a  fertilizing  power  is  created,  which,  without  the 
aid  of  this  process,  could  not  probably  have  been  obtained. 

The  turf  being  cut  an  inch  or  more  in  thickness,  is  set  up 
on  edge  to  dry;  and  after  having  remained  in  this  state  a  suffi- 
cient length  of  time  to  render  it  dry  enough  to  burn,  it  is  either 
set  on  fire  as  it  stands,  or  is  collected  into  heaps. 

The  heaps  are  set  on  fire  and  left  to  burn,  being  so  covered 
as  that  they  shall  burn  with  a  smothered  heat.  By  this  slow 
combustion  the  whole  heap  is  equally  consumed.  The  greatest 
care  is  necessary  in  keeping  the  heap  well  covered,  to  prevent 
the  fire  bursting  out. 

But  there  is  often  difficulty  in  getting  the  heaps  to  burn,  in 
which  case  it  is  necessary  to  employ  straw,  light  wood,  and 
other  substances  to  maintain  the  combustion.  When  the  heaps 
are  burned,  the  ashes  are  spread  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  as  quickly  as  possible  covered  by  a  shallow  ploughing. 

The  process  of  paring  and  burning  cannot  be  strongly  re- 
commended in  this  country;  the  cases  in  which  it  is  advisable 
rarely  exist;  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe,  notwithstanding  the 
high  English  authority  by  which  it  is  sustained,  that  paring 
and  burning  are  good  as  a  regular  system.  But  while  injurious 
where  indiscriminately  practiced,  there  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  not  avail  ourselves  of  so  powerful  an  instrument  of 
improvement  when  it  can  be  beneficially  employed,  as  it  un- 
doubtedly may  be  under  various  circumstances. 

The  cases  in  which  it  may  be  safely  used  seem  to  be — 
1.  In  the  case  of  poor  cold  clays,  marls,  and  calcareous  soils, 
when  broken  up  for  the^?;**^  time.  2.  In  the  case  of  swamps, 
where  there  is  a  considerable  stratum  of  peat,  and  which  are 
broken  up  for  the  first  time.  3.  In  the  case  of  deep  peaty 
soils,  where  there  is  an  excess  of  undecomposed  vegetable 
fibre. 


73 


v.— ON  THE  ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

It  has  been  observed  by  Lord  Kames,  "that  no  branch  of 
husbandry  requires  more  sagacity  and  skill  than  a  proper  rota- 
tion of  crops,  so  as  to  keep  the  ground  always  in  heart,  and  yet 
to  draw  from  it  the  greatest  possible  profit."  Indeed,  no  one, 
who  understands  the  subject,  can  doubt  that  it  is  one  of  the 
very  last  importance;  and  so  prominent  a  place  does  it  hold  in 
the  art  of  agriculture,  that  no  better  criterion  can  be  found  on 
which  to  estimate  the  merits  of  a  farmer,  than  in  the  course  of 
cropping  which  he  has  adopted. 

More  stress  has  been  laid  upon  a  systematic  succession  of 
crops  than  seems  requisite.  The  great  art  of  cultivation  con- 
sists in  the  maintenance  of  the  land  at  least  in  sound  condition, 
and  without  impoverishing  it,  if  it  cannot  be  enriched;  and  it 
is  essentially  necessary  that  the  amount  of  labour,  as  well  as 
the  quantity  of  manure  employed  upon  the  ground,  should  be 
duly  apportioned  to  its  quality. 

The  main  object  of  all  rotations  should  therefore  be  to  esta- 
blish such  a  series  of  crops  as,  by  preventing  the  too  frequent 
recurrence  of  any  one  of  those  which  are  considered  exhaust- 
ing, shall  guard  against  the  dissipation  or  loss  of  those  com- 
ponent parts  or  qualities  of  the  soil,  which  seem  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  each,  and  in  the  abundance  of  which 
consists  its  fertility. 

A  judicious  rotation  of  cropping  for  every  soil,  requires  a 
degree  of  judgment  in  the  farmer,  which  can  only  be  gathered 
from  observation  and  experience.  The  old  rotations  were 
calculated  to  exhaust  the  soil,  and  to  render  it  unproductive. 
To  take  wheat,  barley,  and  oats  in  succession,  a  practice  very 
common  not  many  years  ago,  was  sufficient  to  impoverish  the 
best  land,  while  it  put  little  into  the  pockets  of  the  farmer. 
But  the  modern  rotations  are  founded  on  principles  which 
insure  a  full  return  from  the  soil,  without  lessening  its  value 
or  deteriorating  its  condition.  Much  depends,  however,  on 
the  manner  in  which  the  different  processes  are  executed;  for 
the  best  arranged  rotation  may  be  of  no  avail,  if  the  processes 
belonging  to  it  are  imperfectly  and  unseasonably  executed. 

A  good  system  of  cropping  is,  in  my  opinion,  says  the  justly 
celebrated  Chaptal,  the  best  guarantee  of  success  that  the 
farmer  can  have;  without  this,  all  is  vague,  uncertain,  and 
hazardous.  In  order  to  establish  this  good  system  of  cropping, 
a  degree  of  knowledge  is  necessary,  which  unhappily  is  want- 
7 


74  ON  THE  ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

ing  to  the  greater  part  of  our  practical  farmers.  I  shall  here 
state  certain  facts  and  principles,  which  may  serve  as  guides 
in  this  important  branch  of  agriculture. 

The  proper  distribution  of  crops,  and  a  plan  for  their  suc- 
cession, are  one  of  the  first  subjects  to  which  a  farmer  should 
direct  his  attention.  The  kind  of  crops  to  be  raised  is  deter- 
mined, in  a  great  measure,  hy  the  climate,  soil  and  demand; 
and  the  quantity  of  each  by  the  value,  demand,  and  the  adjust- 
ment of  farm  labour;  the  great  art  of  the  latter  being  the  divi- 
sion of  it  as  equally  as  possible  throughout  the  year. 

The  system  of  rotation  is  adapted  for  every  soil,  though  no 
particular  rotation  can  be  given  for  any  one  soil  which  will 
answer  in  all  cases,  as  something  depends  on  climate,  and  on 
the  kind  of  produce  in  greatest  request.  But  wherever  the 
system  of  rotation  is  followed,  and  the  several  processes  of 
labour  which  belong  to  it  properly  executed,  land  will  rarely 
get  into  a  foul  and  exhausted  state.  The  particular  crops  which 
enter  into  a  system  of  rotation,  must  obviously  be  such  as  are 
suited  to  the  soil  and  climate,  and  other  local  circumstances; 
such  as  the  proximity  of  towns  and  villages,  where  there  is  a 
greater  demand  for  turnips,  sugar  beet,  ruta-baga,  mangle- 
wurtzel,  cabbage,  potatoes,  hay,  &c.,  than  in  thinly  peopled 
districts. 

In  general,  beans  and  clover,  with  rye  grass,  are  interposed 
between  grain  crops,  on  clayey  soils;  and  turnips,  the  whole 
iamily  of  beets,  potatoes,  clover,  and  rye  grass,  on  dry  loams 
or  sands.  A  variety  of  other  plants,  such  as  peas,  cabbage, 
and  carrots,  occupy  a  part,  though  commonly  but  a  small  part, 
of  that  division  of  a  farm  which  is  allotted  to  green  crops. 
This  order  of  succession,  is  called  the  system  of  alternate  hus- 
bandry; and  on  rich  soils,  or  such  as  have  access  to  abundance 
of  putrescent  manure,  it  is  certainly  the  most  productive  of  all 
others,  both  in  food  for  man  and  for  the  inferior  animals. 

One  half  of  a  farm  is,  in  this  course,  always  under  some  of 
the  different  species  of  cereal  gramina,  and  the  other  half 
under  roots,  cultivated  herbage,  or  plain  fallow.  But  the 
greater  part  of  arable  land  cannot  be  maintained  in  a  fertile 
state  under  this  management;  and  sandy  soils,  even  though 
highly  manured,  soon  become  too  incohesive  under  a  course  of 
constant  tillage.  It  therefore  becomes  necessary  to  leave  that 
division  which  carries  cultivated  herbage,  to  be  pastured  for 
two  years,  or  more,  according  to  the  degree  of  its  consistency 
and  fertility;  and  all  the  fields  of  a  farm  are  treated  thus  in 
their  turn,  if  they  require  it.  This  is  called  the  system  of 
convertible  husbandry ,  a  regular  change  being  constantly  going 
on  from  aration  to  pasturage,  and  vice  versa. 


ON  THE  ROTATION  OF  CROPS.  75 

The  principles  upon  which  a  regular  succession  of  crops  is 
founded,  are  thus  laid  down  by  Yvart  and  Pictet  of  France, 
and  are  given  in  full  in  "Chaptal's  Chemistry,  as  applied  to 
ao-riculture,"  from  which  work  we  make  our  extracts. 

"principle  \.-AU  plants  exhaust  the  soil.  [Plants  ar.e  supported  by  the  earth, 
the  juices  with  which  this  is  impregnated  Ibrraing  their  principal  aliment- 
Water  serves  as  the  vehicle  for  conveying  these  juices  into  the  organs  or  pre- 
senting them  to  the  suckers  of  the  roots  by  which  they  are  absorbed;  thus  he 
progress  of  vegetation  tends  constantly  to  impoverish  the  soil,  and  if  the  nutri- 
tive juices  in  Tt  be  not  renewed,  it  will  at  length  become  perfectly  bairen  A 
soil4ell  furnished  with  manure  may  support  several  successive  crops^  but 
each  one  will  be  inferior  to  the  preceding,  till  the  earth  is  completely  ex- 

^^^^tx^^m.z2.-That  all  plants  do  not  exha.ust  the  soU  ^?^«f?/;  .f^^^rem 
nourished  by  air,  water,  and  the  juices  contained  m  the  soil;  but^  he  different 
kinds  of  plants  do  not  require  the  same  kinds  of  nourishment  m  equal  degiees 
—There  are  some  that  require  to  have  their  roots  constantly  m  water,  others 
are  best  suited  with  dry  soils;  and  there  are  those  agam,  that  prosper  only  m 
the  best  and  most  richly  manured  land. 

The  principal  part  of  the  nourishment  of  the  grain  crops, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  grasses  which  push  up  long  stalks, 
in  which  the  fibrous  principle  predominates,  is  derived  irom 
the  ground  by  their  roots,  so  that  these  plants  exhaust  the  soil 
without  sensibly  repairing  the  loss. 

Those  plants,  on  the  contrary,  that  are  provided  with  large, 
fleshy,  porous,  green  leaves,  imbibe  from  the  atmosphere  car- 
bonic acid  and  water,  and  receive  from  the  earth  the  other 
substances  by  which  they  are  nourished.  If  these  are  cut 
green,  the  loss  of  juices,  which  the  soil  has  sustained  by  their 
growth,  is  less  sensibly  felt,  as  a  part  of  it  is  compensated  for 
by  their  roots.  Nearly  all  the  plants  that  are  cultivated  tor 
fodder  are  of  this  kind. 

Leguminous  plants,  such  as  clover,  lucerne,  beans,  peas,  &c., 
exhaust  the  soil  less  than  the  grains. ,  Their  perpendicular 
roots  divide  the  soil,  and  their  large  leaves,  and  thick,  loose, 
porous  stalks,  readily  absorb  air  and  water.  Plants  that  are 
cut  green,  or  while  in  flower,  exhaust  the  soil  but  little. 

Vm^civi^z  ^.-That  plants  of  different  kinds  do  not  exhaust  the  soil  in  the 
same  manner.  The  roots  of  plants  of  the  same  genus  or  lamily,  grow  in  tiie 
soil  in  the  same  manner;  they  penetrate  to  a  similar  depth,  and  extend  to  coi- 
responding  distances:  and  exhaust  all  that  portion  of  the  soil  with  which  they 
come  in  contact.  Plants  exhaust  only  that  portion  of  the  soil  which  comes  in 
contact  with  their  roots;  and  a  spindle  root  may  be  able  to  draw  an  abnndance 
of  nourishment  from  land,  the  surface  of  which  has  been  exhausted  by  short 

°^  PRmciPLE  4  —That  all  plants  do  not  restore  to  the  soil  the  quantity,  or  the  same 
quality  of  manure.  The  plants  that  grow  upon  a  soil,  exhaust  more  or  less  ot 
Its  nutritive  juices,  but  all  return  to  it  some  remains,  to  repair  part  ol  its  loss. 
The  -rains  and  the  oleaginous  seeds  may  be  placed  at  the  head  of  those  which 
exhaust  the  soil  the  most,  and  repair  the  least  the  injury  done  it.  In  those 
countries  where  plants  are  plucked  up,  they  return  nothing  to  the  soil  that  has 
nourished  them.  Many  plants  that  are  not  allowed  to  produce  seed,  exhaust 
the  soil  but  very  little;  these  are  very  valuable  in  forming  a  system  of  suc- 
cessive crops,  as  by  introducing  them  into  the  rotation,  ground  may  be  made 


76  ON  THE  ROTATION  OP  CROPS. 

to  yield  for  many  years  without  the  application  of  fresh  manure;  the  varieties 
of  trefoil,  especially  clover  and  sainfoin,  are  of  this  sort. 

Principle  5. —  That  all  pla.nts  are  not  equally  favourable  to  the  groivth  of 
weeds.  It  is  said  that  a  plant  fouls  the  soil,  when  it  facilitates  or  permits  the 
growth  of  weeds,  which  exhaust  the  earth,  weary  the  plant,  appropriate  to 
themselves  a  part  of  its  nourishment,  and  hasten  its  decay.  AH  plants  not 
provided  with  an  extensive  system  of  large  and  vigorous  leaves,  calculated  to 
cover  the  ground,  foul  the  soil.  The  grains  from  their  slender  stalks  rising 
into  the  air,  and  their  long  narrow  leaves,  easily  admit  into  their  intervals 
those  weeds  that  grow  upon  the  surface,  which  being  defended  from  heat  and 
winds  grow  by  favour  of  the  grain  they  injure. 

From  the  principles  here  laid  down,  says  our  author,  we 
may  draw  the  following  conclusions:  First.  That  however 
well  prepared  a  soil  may  be,  it  cannot  nourish  a  long  succession 
of  crops  without  becoming  exhausted.  Second.  Each  harvest 
impoverishes  the  soil  to  a  certain  extent,  depending  upon  the 
degrees  of  nourishment  which  it  restores  to  the  earth.  Third. 
The  cultivation  of  spindle  roots  ought  to  succeed  that  of  run- 
ning and  superficial  roots.  Fourth.  It  is  necessary  to  avoid 
returning  too  soon  to  the  cultivation  of  the  same,  or  analogous 
kinds  of  vegetables,  in  the  same  soil.*  Fifth.  It  is  very  un- 
wise to  allow  two  kinds  of  plants,  which  admit  of  the  too  ready 
growth  of  weeds  among  them,  to  be  raised  in  succession. 
Sixth.  Those  plants  that  derive  their  principal  support  from 
the  soil  should  not  be  sown,  excepting  when  the  soil  is  suffi- 
ciently provided  with  manure.  Seventh.  When  the  soil  ex- 
hibits symptoms  of  exhaustion  from  successive  harvests,  the 
cultivation  of  those  plants  that  restore  most  to  the  soil,  must 
be  resorted  to. 

These  principles  are  confirmed  by  experience;  they  form 
the  basis  of  a  system  of  agriculture,  rich  in  its  products,  but 
more  rich  in  its  economy,  by  the  diminution  of  the  usual  quan- 
tity of  labour  and  manure.  All  cultivators  ought  to  be  govern- 
ed by  them,  but  their  application  must  be  modified  by  the 
nature  of  soils  and  climates,  and  the  particular  wants  of  each 
locality. 

To  prescribe  a  series  of  successive  and  various  harvests, 
without  paying  any  regard  to  the  difierence  of  soils,  would  be 
to  commit  a  great  error,  and  to  condemn  the  system  of  cropping 
in  the  eyes  of  those  agriculturists  who  are  too  little  enlightened 

*  In  addition  to  the  reasons  I  have  given  why  plants  of  the  same  or  analo- 
gous kinds  should  not  be  cultivated  in  succession  upon  the  same  soil,  there  is 
another  which  I  will  here  assign.  M.  Oliver,  Member  of  the  French  Insti- 
tute, has  described  with  much  care  all  the  insects  which  devour  the  neck  of 
the  roots  of  grain;  these  multiply  infinitely  if  the  same  or  analogous  kinds  of 
plants  be  presented  to  the  soil  for  several  successive  years;  but  perish  for 
want  of  food  whenever  plants  not  suited  to  be  food  for  their  larvae,  are  made 
to  succeed  the  grains.  These  insects  belong  to  the  family  of  Tipulae,  or  that 
of  flies.— (Sixteenth  Vol.  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Royal  and  Central  Agricul- 
tural Society  of  Paris.) 


ON  THE  ROTATION  OF  CROPS.  77 

to  think  of  introducing  into  their  grounds  the  requisite  changes. 
Clover  and  sainfoin  are  placed  amongst  the  vegetables  that  ought 
to  enter  into  the  system  of  cropping,  but  these  plants  require 
a  deep  and  not  too  compact  a  soil,  in  order  that  their  roots  may 
fix  themselves  firmly.  Flax,  hemp,  and  corn  require  a  good 
soil,  and  can  be  admitted  as  a  crop  only  upon  those  lands  that 
are  fertile  and  well  prepared. 

Light  and  dry  soils  cannot  bear  the  same  kinds  of  crop  as  those 
that  are  compact  and  moist.  Each  kind  of  soil,  then,  requires  a 
particular  system  of  crops,  and  each  farmer  ought  to  establish 
his  own  upon  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  character  and  proper- 
ties of  the  land  he  cultivates.  As  in  each  locality  the  soil  pre- 
sents shades  of  difference,  more  or  less  marked,  according  to 
the  exposure,  composition,  depth  of  the  soil,  &c.,the  proprietor 
ought  so  to  vary  his  crops,  as  to  give  to  each  portion  of  the  land 
the  plants  for  which  it  is  best  adapted;  and  thus  establish  a  par- 
ticular rotation  of  crops. 

An  intelligent  farmer,  whose  lands  lie  at  a  distance  from  a 
market,  will  endeavour  to  avoid  the  expenses  incident  to  the 
transportation  of  his  products;  and  in  order  to  do  this  he  will 
give  the  preference  to  those  harvests  of  fodder  or  of  roots  which 
may  be  consumed  upon  the  place  by  his  dependents  and  his 
animals. 

There  is  another  circumstance  which  must  be  attended  to  in 
sowing  those  lands  which  are  light,  or  which  lie  upon  a  slope; 
for  these  it  is  necessary  to  employ  such  vegetables  as  cover  the 
soil  with  their  numerous  leaves,  and  unite  it  in  every  direction 
by  their  roots,  thus  preserving  it  from  being  washed  away  by 
rains,  and  at  the  same  time  protecting  it  from  being  too  much 
dried  by  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun. 

In  order  to  support  by  example  the  truth  of  the  principles 
which  I  have  here  laid  down,  I  will  make  a  statement  of  the 
series  of  crops  that  are  found  most  advantageous  in  those  coun- 
tries where  agriculture  is  the  most  flourishing.  1  shall  com- 
mence with  the  province  of  ancient  Flanders,  because  there 
the  art  of  cultivating  the  soil  to  the  greatest  advantage  had  its 
birth.  In  the  departments  of  Lille  and  Douai,  where  the  soil 
is  of  the  best  kind,  and  the  art  of  preparing  and  employing 
manures  is  carried  to  the  greatest  perfection,  the  following 
series  of  crops  are  adopted. 

First  Series.  Flax  or  cabbage — wheat — beans — oats  with 
trefoil — trefoil — wheat. 

Second  Series.  Turnips — oats  or  barley  with  trefoil — 
trefoil — wheat. 

Third  Series.     Patatoes — wheat — roots,  such  as  the  sugar 
7* 


78  ON  THE  ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

beet,  ruta-baga,  turnips — wheat — buckwheat — beans — oats  and 
trefoil — trefoil — wheat* 

In  this  rotation  of  crops  we  find  that  after  the  soil  has  been 
manured,  the  crops  that  are  most  exhausting  are  replaced  by 
those  that  are  less  so;  and  those  that  foul  the  soil,  by  those  that 
cleanse  it  by  requiring  frequent  weedings.  It  is  by  similar 
means  that  nearly  the  whole  sea  coast  of  Belgium,  consisting 
of  sterile  sand,  has  been  rendered  as  fertile  as  the  best  soil;  and 
the  richest  harvests  have  followed  from  a  judicious  system  of 
cropping. 

This  is  the  foreign  system  of  rotation,  recommended  partly 
by  that  great  man,  Sir  Arthur  Young,  more  recently  by 
Chaptal  and  other  eminent  agriculturists.  By  it  the  indus- 
trious inhabitants  of  many  parts  of  Great  Britain  and  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe,  have  vanquished  all  obstacles,  and  fertilized 
a  soil  to  the  highest  degree  which  was  heretofore  sterile,  and 
nearly  unproductive. 

The  American  system  is  conducted  on  very  nearly  the  same 
general  principles;  all  that  is  necessary  to  say  therefore  on  this 
point,  is  embraced  in  the  following  paiagraphs,  which  we  ex- 
tract from  an  interesting  paper  in  the  Farmers'  Cabinet,  page 
296,  vol.  ii. 

^'System  is  as  important  in  farming  as  any  other  business; 
without  it,  confusion,  disorder  and  loss  will  be  the  inevitable 
result.  Fifty  years  ago  there  was  no  regular,  rational  S3'ste- 
matic  rotation  of  farming  pursued  in  what  are  now  the  best 
cultivated  districts  of  Pennsylvania.  The  consequence  was  a 
regular  and  constant  deterioration  of  the  soil,  producing  less 
and  less  annually,  till  starvation  and  want  seemed  to  be  inevi- 
table, in  many  sections  of  country,  that  are  now  in  a  very  high 
state  of  cultivation.  The  introduction  of  red  clover,  and  plas- 
ter of  paris,  with  a  judicious  rotation  of  crops,  gave  rise  to  the 
astonishing  improvements  which  have  taken  place  within  forty 
or  fifty  years.  The  soil  gradually  became  enriched  and  regene- 
rated under  the  improved  system,  and  its  increased  products 
enabled  its  owners  still  further  to  add  to  its  fertility;  and  how 
far  this  plan  of  progressive  improvement  is  capable  of  being 
carried,  has  never  yet,  that  I  have  ascertained,  been  deter- 
mined; but  many  of  us  have  lived  to  see  farms,  that  yielded  but 
a  very  scanty  support  to  a  single  family,  under  the  old  way  of 
cultivation,  now  not  only  support  in  affluence,  three,  four,  or 
five  families,  but  furnish  the  means  of  enriching  them  all,  by 
the  adoption  of  the  modern  improvements  in  agriculture. 

"The  following  rotation  is  generally  adopted  by  the  leading 

*  The  other  references  are  so  similar  that  we  omit  them. 


ON  THE  ROTATION  OF  C  ROPS.  79 

and  most  successful  farmers  in  the  best  cultivated  parts  of  eastern 
Pennsylvania.  After  a  grass  or  clover  field  has  been  mowed 
one  year,  and  the  next  succeeding  year  been  used  for  pasture, 
it  is  broken  up  or  ploughed,  either  late  in  the  autumn  or  early 
in  the  following  spring,  and  planted  with  Indian  corn,  which 
is  cut  off  in  the  fall  and  the  field  ploughed  as  before,  either  in 
the  fall  or  following  spring,  and  sowed  with  oats  or  barley;  and 
immediately  after  the  harvesting  of  the  oats  or  barley,  the  ground 
is  ploughed,  manured  and  sown  with  wheat. 

"Grass  seed  should  be  sowed  on  the  wheat  early  in  the 
spring,  and  if  timothy  is  intended  to  accompany  the  clover,  it 
had  better  be  sowed  in  the  fall,  and  the  clover,  orchard  grass, 
or  herd  grass  seed  sowed  early  in  the  spring;  and  be  sure  not 
to  be  too  sparing  of  the  grass  seed,  for  much  loss  is  often  sus- 
tained by  not  putting  it  on  thick  enough,  particularly  as  the 
clover  in  some  soils  is  often  injured  by  the  winter  frosts,  and 
then  it  is  important  to  have  plenty  of  timothy,  orchard  grass, 
or  herd  grass  roots  to  supply  its  place. 

"The  spring  following  the  wheat  crop,  plaster  of  paris  should 
be  applied,  say  one  bushel  to  the  acre;  most  of  our  best  farmers 
consider  this  to  produce  as  great  an  effect  as  any  larger  quantity. 
This  season  cut  the  grass  for  hay,  and  the  next  succeeding  season 
pasture  the  grass,  and  in  the  autumn  it  may  be  again  ploughed 
for  corn  the  following  season,  and  proceed  with  the  same  round 
of  crops  again  in  the  same  order;  but  if  the  farm  should  contain 
a  sufficient  number  of  fields,  and  the  grass  be  well  set,  it  may 
be  pastured  a  second  year  before  it  is  broken  up  for  corn.  The 
first  is  a  five  years  rotation,  the  latter  six. 

"The  best  time  for  applying  lime  or  marl  in  this  rotation  of 
crops,  is  believed  to  be  in  the  fall,  after  the  wheat  crop;  ap- 
plied as  a  top-dressing  on  the  young  grass  or  clover.  In  this 
mode  of  application,  its  effects  are  very  conspicuous  in  the  in- 
creased quantity  of  grass  the  first  season,  and  when  the  sward 
is  broken  up  for  corn,  the  efiect  of  the  lime  or  marl,  on  that 
crop,  will  be  much  greater  than  if  they  were  applied  to  it  the 
same  season." 


80 


VI.— CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

I.     PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  SEEDS. 

I.    CEREAL  GRASSES. 

There  are  a  great  variety  of  plants  raised  for  their  seeds, 
and  known  as  cereal  grasses.  Those  most  usually  grown  in 
this  country,  to  which  our  climate  is  friendly,  are  wheat,  rye, 
oats,  and  to  some  considerable  extent,  barley.  To  these  we  must 
add  maize,  (Indian  corn,)  which  in  many  sections  is  raised  in 
immense  quantities,  being  regarded  by  the  majority  of  our 
farmers,  probably,  as  the  most  important  crop  they  can  raise. 
To  this  we  must  add  buckwheat  and  rice,  which  are  very  im- 
portant crops,  the  latter  not  only  feeding  thousands  in  this 
country,  but  forming  one  of  our  principal  articles  of  export.  * 

The  chemical  composition  of  plants  has  been  made  the  sub- 
ject of  numerous  experiments  within  these  few  years.  Some 
of  them  have  been  attended  with  very  interesting  results;  but 
as  the  subject  is  too  extensive  to  be  treated  of  here,  we  give 
the  following  brief  quotation  from  the  works  of  a  gentleman 
now  no  more,  whose  labours  in  the  cause  of  science  have  thrown 
much  light  on  the  art  of  agriculture.! 

"The  compounds  in  vegetables  really  nutritive,  are  very  few; 
farina,  or  the  pure  matter  of  starch,  gluten,  sugar,  vegetable 
jelly,  oil  and  extract.  Of  these  the  most  nutritive  is  gluten, 
which  approaches  nearest  in  its  nature  to  animal  matter,  and 
which  is  the  substance  that  gives  to  wheat  its  superiority  over 
every  other  grain. 

"The  next  in  order  as  to  nourishing  power  is  oil,  then  sugar, 
then  starch,  and  last  of  all,  gelatinous  and  extractive  matters. 
Sugar,  and  farina,  and  starch,  are,  however,  very  similar  in 
composition,  and  are  capable  of  being  converted  into  each 
other  by  a  very  simple  chemical  process. 

"All  the  varieties  of  substances  found  in  plants,  are  produced 
from  the  sap,  and  the  sap  of  plants  is  derived  from  water,  or 

*  The  term  com  is  applied  indiscriminately  in  Europe  to  all  grains  furnish- 
ing food  for  the  human  race.  Our  viaize,  or  Indian  corn,  cannot  be  success- 
fully raised  in  England,  on  account  of  the  humidity  of  the  climate  preventing 
its  coming  to  perfection;  and  its  culture  has  not,  as  a  field  crop,  been  at- 
tended with  success  in  Europe,  except  in  the  southern  parts,  along  the  Mediter- 
ranean, in  Spain,  the  countries  of  the  Levant,  &c. 

t  Sir  Humphrey  Davy.    First  Lecture  on  Agricultural  Chemistry. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  81 

from  the  fluids  of  the  soil,  and  it  is  attended  by,  or  combined 
with,  principles  derived  from  the  atmosphere." 

But  they  are  subject  to  variations  however,  in  quality  and 
proportion,  not  only  in  the  different  kinds  of  grain,  but  also  in 
those  of  the  same  species:  the  temperature  of  the  season,  the 
nature  of  the  soil  and  manure,  the  degree  of  maturity  which 
the  crop  has  obtained,  and  the  weather  at  harvest,  all  give  rise 
to  distinct  degrees  of  quality;  and  this  occasions  grain  to  con- 
tain more  nutritive  properties  in  some  years  than  others. 

Seed  of  every  kind  should  attain  full  maturity  ere  it  be 
soivn. — There  is  always  risk  in  employing  that  which  has  not 
arrived  at  perfection,  although  instances  may  occur  in  which 
such  seed  has  produced  sound  crops,  when  favoured  by  soil 
and  season.  Several  cases  of  this  season's  occurrence  might 
be  mentioned  in  illustration  of  the  fact. 

There  is  a  particular  period  at  which  each  species  of  seed 
ought  to  be  sown,  in  order  to  bring  the  plants  to  a  perfect  state 
of  ripeness.  This,  however,  depends  so  much  upon  the  soil 
and  season,  that  it  cannot  be  fixed  by  any  general  rule;  and 
the  farmer  can  only  be  governed  by  the  state  of  the  weather 
and  the  forwardness  of  his  work;  for,  whatever  may  be  his  ex- 
perience, his  judgment  may  be  deceived  in  the  choice  of  time. 

The  condition  of  the  land  is,  in  fact,  the  best  guide;  for, 
if  it  be  in  a  mellow  state,  between  drought  and  moisture,  the 
seed  may  be  put  in  with  confidence.  Some  kinds,  however, 
prefer  a  dry  and  warm  soil;  others,  that  which  is  more  humid 
and  tenacious.  Thus,  barley,  rye,  and  buckwheat,  succeed 
best  on  the  former;  and  wheat  and  oats  on  the  latter.  It  has, 
indeed,  been  remarked,  that  a  certain  state  of  the  atmosphere, 
with  which  all  farmers  are  well  acquainted,  is  favourable  to 
sowing.* 

The  depth  at  which  seed  should  be  sown,  is  a  matter  of 
nicety,  as  well  as  of  importance.  If  too  deeply  buried,  germi- 
nation is  impeded,  and  may  be  altogether  prevented;  while, 
if  sown  too  shallow,  sufficient  moisture  is  not  left  in  the  sur- 
face to  afford  nourishment  to  the  roots  of  the  plant. 

The  depth  at  which  seed  ought  to  be  placed,  must,  there- 
fore, be  regulated  by  the  nature  of  the  soil.  If  stiff,  more 
moderate  covering  should  be  used  than  if  light  and  porous; 
wheat,  barley  and  oats,  also  require  more  than  rye  or  buck- 
wheat; but,  except  in  a  few  instances,  from  one  and  a  half  to 
three  inches,  is,  in  every  case,  the  lowest  to  which  it  should  be 
carried. 

*  Library  of  Useful  Knowledge — Farmers'  series. 


82  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 


I.    WHEAT. 

Of  what  country  ivheat  is  a  native,  is,  according  to  Loudon, 
totally  unknown.  It  has  been  supposed  indigenous  to  Asia  and 
Africa;  and  unquestionably  it  is  more  likely  to  belong  to  these 
parts  of  the  world  than  any  other;  but  all  that  can  be  advanced 
on  this  subject  is  conjecture. 

Wheat,  with  the  exception  of  some  parts  of  the  southern 
coast  of  Africa,  (where,  according  to  the  declaration  of  Pliny, 
it  yielded  more  than  an  hundred  fold,)  is  cultivated  in  every 
part  of  the  temperate  and  torrid  zones,  and  in  some  places  as 
high  as  two  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

Species  and  varieties. — Botanists  reckon  seven  species  of 
Triticum,  which  are  or  may  be  cultivated  for  their  grains,  be- 
sides many  varieties  and  sub-varieties  of  those  in  common  cul- 
ture.    The  species  or  sub-species  are, 

1.  Triticum  aestivum,  summer  or  spring  wheat.  2.  Triticum 
hybernum,  neuter  or  Lammas  wheat.  3.  Triticum  composi- 
tum,  Egyptian  wheat.  4.  Triticum  turgidum,  Turgid  wheat. 
5.  Triticum  polonicum,  Polish  wheat.  6.  Triticum  spelta, 
Spelta,  Spelt  wheat.  7.  Triticum  monococcum,  one  grained 
wheat. 

The  first,  second,  fourth  and  fifth  sorts  are  by  many  consi- 
dered as  only  varieties,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  third  and 
sixth  may  not  be  the  same.  The  seventh  has  all  the  marks  of 
a  distinct  species,  but  it  is  very  questionable  whether,  if  much 
cultivated,  it  would  always  continue  to  produce  one  row  of 
grains.* 

Of  the  species  which  have  been  enumerated,  greatly  the  most 
important  in  rural  economy  is  the  winter  wheat.  The  kinds 
of  it  are  very  numerous,  and,  in  truth,  there  is  scarce  a  limit 
to  the  differences  which  climate,  soil,  and  situation  may  pro- 
duce. 

The  characters  which  it  thus  acquires  in  the  different  condi- 
tions in  which  it  is  placed,  are  more  or  less  permanent  and  im- 
portant. The  kinds  are  distinguished  by  a  great  variety  of 
local  terms,  derived  from  their  respectiv&qualities,  their  places 
of  growth,  and  other  circumstances. 

With  respect  to  their  uses  in  agriculture,  they  riiay  be  divided 
into  two  classes,  distinguished  by  the  colour  of  their  seeds,  red 
and  white;  and  these  may  again  be  distinguished  by  their 
spikelets  being  smooth  or  hairy,  the  one  being  termed  thin  or 
smooth-chaffed,  and  the  other  thick  or  woolly-chaffed. 

Of  these  classes,  the  white  are  superior  in  the  quality  of  their 

*  Encyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  p.  812. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  83 

produce;  the  red  are  the  more  hardy;  and,  in  general,  the  thin 
and  smooth-chaffed  are  preferred  to  the  woolly  and  thick- 
chaffed. 

Winter  wheat  is  sometimes  termed  spring  wheat.  This 
merely  arises  from  the  period  of  sowing.  If  it  is  sown  in 
spring,  it  is  termed  spring  wheal;  if  previous  to  winter,  Lam- 
mas or  winter  wheat.  This  circumstance  has  perplexed  some 
writers,  who  have  evidently  drawn  distinctions  between  the 
winter  and  spring  wheat  of  the  farmer  which  do  not  exist. 

But  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  wheat  sown  in  spring,  changes 
its  habit  with  relation  to  the  period  of  ripening.  The  produce 
of  wheat  sown  in  spring,  acquires  the  habit  of  coming  much 
sooner  to  maturity,  than  the  produce  of  that  sown  in  autumn. 
Hence  the  farmer,  when  he  sows  wheat  in  spring,  should  sow 
the  produce  of  that  which  had  been  already  sown  in  spring, 
and  not  the  produce  of  that  which  had  been  sown  in  autumn. 

This  change,  in  the  habit  of  ripening,  though  it  may  at  first 
view  appear  somewhat  singular,  takes  place  in  all  the  cereal 
grasses,  and  also  in  many  other  cultivated  plants.  The  minor 
varieties  of  any  species  of  wheat,  are  not  permanent  in  their 
character,  though  under  given  conditions,  they  will  remain 
unchanged  for  an  indefinite  period.  Under  other  circum- 
stances, however,  they  degenerate;  and  hence  particular  kinds 
that  were  once  valued,  have  now  ceased  to  be  so.* 

Wheat  is  of  very  general  cultivation  on  all  classes  of  soils; 
but  the  soils  best  suited  to  it,  are  those  which  are  more  or  less 
clayey.  So  peculiarly  is  wheat  suited  to  the  stiffer  soils,  that 
they  are  familiarly  termed  wheat-soils.  The  soils  of  the 
lighter  class  are  the  least  suited  to  wheat;  and  it  is  an  error  in 
practice  to  force  the  production  of  wheat  on  soils,  and  under 
circumstances,  which  are  better  suited  to  the  production  of  the 
other  grains. 

Good  wheat  land,  ought,  therefore,  always  to  possess  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  consistence;  for,  although  light  soils,  composed 
chiefly  of  sand  and  gravel,  will  often  produce  wheat  of  good 
quality,  yet  rich  heavy  loams  and  strong  clays,  with  a  proper 
portion  of  sand,  always  yield  that  which  is  the  weightiest  in 
the  bushel,  and  the  most  productive  in  the  crop. 

If,  along  with  a  small  quantity  of  sand,  it  have  about  fifteen 
per  cent,  of  lime,  it  may  be  classed  among  soils  of  the  best 
quality  for  the  production  of 'this  crop,  provided  it  also  con- 
tains a  sufficient  portion  of  nutritive  humus,  or  mould.  Soils  of 
this  description  are  generally  of  a  dark'  brown  colour,  and  work 
freely,  in  consequence  of  the  mixture  of  lime,  which  prevents 
them  from  being  too  adhesive. 

♦  Professor  Low,  page  234. 


84  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

A  general  rule,  applicable  to  all  cases  in  which  wheat  is 
sown,  is,  that  the  land  shall  be  in  the  best  condition  that  cir- 
cumstances allow,  with  respect  to  tillage,  cleanness  and  fertility. 
As  wheat  is  the  mostvaluableof  the  cereal  grasses, so  it  requires 
greater  care  than  the  others  to  produce  it.  It  is  an  error  in 
practice,  to  sow  with  a  grain  crop,  any  land  which  is  out  of 
order;  but  this  error  is  greater  and  more  hurtful  in  the  case  of 
wheat  than  of  almost  any  other  grain  crop. 

As  the  wheat  crop  generally  receives  no  further  culture  after 
it  is  committed  to  the  earth,  the  soil  intended  for  its  reception 
should  be  brought  into  as  fine  condition  as  possible.  To  ac- 
complish this,  manuring  and  thorough  culture  are  indispensa- 
ble: if  this  is  attended  to,  the  soil  will  be  in  a  loose,  mellow 
and  fertile  state,  and  possessing  such  a  depth  of  tilth  as  will 
have  a  tendency  to  preserve  it  in  good  condition. 

Most  crops  require  high  manuring  and  a  rich  soil,  and  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  carry  this  to  excess,  especially  in  the  case 
of  corn:  but  with  wheat  the  case  is  otherwise.  Land,  naturally 
very  rich  or  very  highly  manured,  is  apt  to  cause  during  the  hot 
season  of  summer,  a  too  rapid  growth  of  straw,  at  the  expense 
of  the  seed;  and  rust,  lodging,  and  ultimate  failure,  is  fre- 
quently the  consequence.* 

It  is  an  established  law  in  vegetable  economy,  that  an  extraordinary  growth 
of  the  stem  and  leaves  is  always  at  the  expense  of  the  fruit  or  seed.  Hence, 
fruit  trees  very  rarely  bear  while  in  a  very  thrifty  state;  but  require  first  to  be 
checked  in  their  growth,  in  order  to  produce  fruit. 

Now,  as  it  is  during  the  heat  of  summer,  a  season  when  vegetation  ad- 
vances most  rapidly,  that  wheat  matures  its  seed,  it  is  more  liable,  on  this  ac- 
count, to  suffer  from  too  vigorous  a  growth,  than  other  plants  which  ripen 
their  seed  later  in  the  season,  such  as  Indian  corn. 

In  modern  tillage,  wheat  more  generally  follows  clover  than 
any  other  crop:  years  of  practice  having  confirmed  the  opinion 
entertained  by  many  intelligent  farmers,  that  clover  is  the  best 
preparative  for  a  crop  of  wheat.  The  practice  is  as  follows: 
The  clover  field  having  been  mowed  or  fed  off,  is  generally 
turned  up  the  second  year  of  its  having  been  laid  down  to 
grass.  In  this  case,  all  "farmers  who  ivork  it  right,  give  but 
one  ploughing,  and  harrow  in  the  seed  by  passing  the  harrow 
twice  in  a  place  the  same  way  with  the  furrows." 

If  the  clover  sod  is  completely  subverted  by  the  furrow  slice 
being  turned  flat,  whereby  all  the  vegetable  matter  is  com- 
pletely shut  in,  or  buried,  the  sward  thus  turned  in,  will  begin 
to  decompose,  according  to  the  favourable  state  of  the  weather 
and  other  circumstances,  in  from  ten  to  fifteen  days.  This,  by 
many,  is  considered  as  the  proper  time  for  putting  in  the 
wheat. 

♦  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  v.  page  273. . 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  §5 

This  process  is  what  is  called  sowing  or  putting  in  wheat 
upon  a  clover  ley,  and  is  considered  as  one  of  the  great  im- 
provements in  modern  agriculture.  It  has  been  adopted  for 
years  past  in  New  England,  with  great  advantage.  Even  in 
the  middle  states,  in  pursuance  with  this  practice,  together 
with  the  use  of  plaster  and  lime,  the  face  of  the  country  in 
many  places  has  been  entirely  renovated. 

Much  diversity  of  opinion  prevails  even  among  many  intel- 
ligent practical  farmers,  in  regard  to  the  proper  period  for 
sowing  wheat  on  a  clover  ley.  Some  contending  that  the  ope- 
rations of  ploughing,  harrowing  and  seeding  should  imme- 
diately follow  each  other:  Mr.  Bordley,  in  his  valuable  work 
on  Husbandr}'^,  advocates  this  system.  The  practice,  however, 
does  not  generally  prevail. 

On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Macro, an  eminent  English  farmer, 
says,  '*from  upwards  of  twenty  years'  experience,  I  am  of 
opinion,  that  the  best  way  of  sowing  clover  lands  with  wheat, 
is  to  plough  the  land  ten  or  fourteen  days  before  you  sow  it, 
that  it  may  have  time  to  get  dry,  and  after  rain  to  make  it  dress 
well.  I  have  often  tried  both  ways  on  the  same  lands,  and 
always  found  that  ploughing  several  days  before  seeding 
answered  best. 

Both  modes  give  crops  superior  to  what  are  produced  on  a 
fallow:  farmers  may  therefore  try  both  methods  for  determin- 
ing which  to  prefer;  that  is,  as  well  immediate  sowing  on 
ploughing  in  the  clover,  as  the  method  of  sowing  not  till  ten 
or  fourteen  days  after  having  ploughed  in  the  clover — suppose 
a  half  each  way. 

Webb  Hall,  in  his  Prize  Essay  on  the  growth  of  wheat, 
says  that  the  ley  should  be  broken  up  at  least  a  month  before 
the  seeding  of  the  ground;  both  that  time  should  be  allowed 
for  the  decomposition  of  the  sward,  and  chiefly,  that  the  land 
may  be  allowed  to  settle. 

If  it  be  desirable  to  sow  wheat  after  a  fallow  crop  of  peas, 
barley,  rye,  oats,  &c.,  the  land  should  be  immediately  plough- 
ed or  thoroughly  harrowed  after  it  is  cleared,  that  the  scattered 
grains  may  have  sufficient  time  to  vegetate — then  one  good 
ploughing  with  sufficient  harrowing  is  a  good  preparation  of 
the  seed. 

Seed  wheat  should  be  selected  from  the  earliest  and  most 
perfect  growth  of  the  preceding  year,  and  thoroughly  cleansed 
from  rye,  cockle,  imperfect  or  shrivelled  grains,  weeds,  ex- 
traneous substances,  &c.  Too  much  attention  cannot  be  be- 
stowed on  this  part  of  the  operation,  if  you  wish  to  harvest  a 
clean  crop,  as  every  kind  of  seed  will  produce  its  like.  Too 
much  care  cannot  be  observed  in  the  selection  of  seed. 
8 


g5  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

It  has  been  satisfactorily  ascertained  by  repeated  experi- 
ments of  distinguished  agriculturists,  that  steeping  seed  wheat 
about  twelve  hours  in  weak  ley,  lime,  or  common  lime  water, 
will  prevent  smut,  and  destroy  the  larvae  of  insects,  and  the 
germ  of  smut  and  other  diseases  to  which  it  is  subject.  If  im- 
mediately rolled  in  plaster,  or  a  mixture  of  lime  and  plaster, 
the  crop  will  be  sufficiently  increased  to  pay  three  times  the 
expense.* 

This  process  should  never  be  omitted,  because,  besides  de- 
tecting the  shrunk  and  shrivelled  grains,  and  many  seeds  of 
other  plants,  which  will  float  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  it 
entirely  removes  the  dust  of  smut  and  rust,  and  thus  prevents 
their  propagation.  This  practice  is  fully  sustained  by  the  ex- 
perience of  eminent  English  farmers,  as  detailed  in  the  "Far- 
mers' Series  of  the  Library  of  Useful  Knowledge." 

A  practice  of  steeping,  very  general  in  England,  and  to  some 
extent  practiced  in  the  United  States,  is  thus  described  by  Pro- 
fessor Low.  Let  a  tub  be  provided,  and  partly  filled  with 
urine,  and  let  a  quantity  of  wheat,  as  a  bushel,  be  put  in  at  a 
time.  Let  the  wheat  be  well  stirred,  and  all  the  lighter  grains 
which  come  to  the  top,  be  skimmed  carefully  off,  and  thrown 
aside  as  useless.  The  wheat  should  remain  from  five  to  ten 
minutes,  but  never  more  than  ten  minutes,  in  the  pickle. 

The  successive  portions  of  wheat  thus  pickled,  are  to  be 
allowed  to  drain  a  little,  and  then  to  be  laid  upon  the  barn- 
floor  in  layers,  hot  lime  being  at  the  same  time  sifted  upon 
each  layer.  The  purpose  of  spreading  the  lime  is  to  dry  the 
grain,  which  should  then  be  carried  immediately  to  the  fields 
and  sown. 

The  Professor  does  not  mention  the  quantity  of  lime.  Half 
a  peck  must  be  amply  sufficient  for  a  bushel  of  wheat,  and  it 
should  be  carefully  stirred,  that  every  grain  may  receive  a  por- 
tion. Quick-lime  fresh  from  the  kiln,  which  has  been  recently 
slaked  with  some  of  the  liquor  used  for  the  steep,  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred. Great  caution  is  requisite  in  the  use  of  lime — for  if 
not  properly  slaked,  so  great  a  degree  of  heat  might  be  raised 
as  to  destroy  its  vegetative  power. 

A  very  strong  pickle  of  salt  dissolved  in  water  may  be  used 
instead  of  urine;  but  salt-brine  is  not  quite  so  secure  a  means 
of  destroying  the  infection  of  the  disease  as  urine.  That  of 
urine  ought  to  be  preferred  as  being  the  most  efficient;  but  it 
should  be  neither  too  fresh  nor  too  stale;  for  it  is  ineffectual 
in  one  case,  and  injurious  in  the  other.  Its  strength  also  differs 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  food  from  which  it  is  extracted; 

♦  A  Practical  Farmer,  in  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  v.  p.  261, 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  87 

and  is  more  powerful  when  produced  by  human  beings  than 
by  animals.  There  are  many  other  steeps  known  to  our  far- 
mers, some  of  which  are  valuable  and  much  used. 

We  will  here  repeat,  that  we  wish  every  grain  grower  to 
bear  constantly  in  mind,  that  wheat,  after  being  pickled,  must 
not  remain  long  unsown,  otherwise  its  vegetative  powers  may 
be  injured  or  destroyed.  No  more  should  be  pickled  at  a  time 
than  can  be  then  sown.  When,  from  any  cause,  as  from  rain 
intervening,  it  is  not  practicable  to  sow  the  wheat  for  a  day  or 
two,  it  should  be  spread  thinly  upon  the  floor,  but  never  kept 
in  sacks,  in  which  it  would  soon  ferment. 

The  wheat,  when  pickled,  then,  is  to  be  carried  directly  to 
the  field.  It  may  be  sown  either  by  the  hand  or  the  broadcast 
sowing-machine,  in  the  manner  already  described,  or  in  rows 
by  the  drill  machine. 

To  guard  against  worms  and  grubs  in  the  soil,  a  mixture  of 
slaked  lime  and  ashes,  at  the  rate  of  from  three  to  eight  bushels 
to  the  acre,  harrowed  in  at  the  time  of  sowing,  is  the  best  pre- 
ventive, and  will  act  at  the  same  time  as  a  valuable  manure, 
if  the  land  has  been  previously  exhausted  by  too  frequent 
cropping. 

The  most  experienced  farmers  prefer  a  change  of  seed  to 
that  grown  by  themselves.  In  order  that  they  maybe  enabled 
to  judge  correctly  of  the  sample  by  which  they  purchase,  it 
should  be  retained  a  minute  or  two  in  the  closed  hand,  and 
then  passed  gently  through  it  to  ascertain  if  the  grain  be  plump, 
hard,  dry,  and  smooth,  with  a  certain  sense  of  mellow  fulness 
in  the  feel;  for,  if  it  handles  rough,  and  does  not  slip  readily 
through  the  fingers,  it  will  be  found  thick  skinned,  damp,  and 
unprofitable  to  the  miller. 

The  time  of  sowing  winter  wheat  must  depend  upon  the 
state  of  the  land  as  well  as  the  season,  and  it  is  not  always  in 
the  farmer's  power  to  choose  the  moment  which  he  would  pre- 
fer; for  if  the  wheat  be  sown  after  another  crop,  that  crop  must 
first  be  removed;  and  even  if  it  be  sown  upon  a  fallow,  the 
operations  of  a  late  harvest,  or  the  state  of  the  weather,  may 
interfere. 

The  best  period  of  sowing  wheat,  it  has  been  said,  is  from 
about  the  middle  to  the  end  of  September.  The  early  part  of 
October,  however,  is  well  suited  to  the  sowing  of  wheat,  and  it 
may  be  continued  until  the  middle  of  November.  Such  is  the 
great  diversity  of  climate  and  soil  in  this  country,  together  with 
the  changes  of  weather  and  other  circumstances,  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  designate  a  fixed  period,  or  lay  down  any  general 
rule — but,  on  the  whole,  early  sowing  is  to  be  recommended. 
In  regard  to  the  time,  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion;  many 


88  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

give  a  preference  to  early,  others  to  late  sowing.  By  early 
sowing,  the  roots  of  the  grain  have  sufficient  time  to  establish 
themselves  before  the  frosts  of  winter  set  in.  It  has  also  been 
ascertained  that  grain  sown  early,  will  throw  up  a  greater 
number  of  lateral  stems  and  branches  than  that  which  is  sown 
late.  We  have  also  the  authority  of  Mr.  Nicholson,  author 
of  the  Farmer's  Assistant,  for  stating,  that  late  sowing  requires 
one-third  more  grain  to  the  acre,  than  if  put  in  early.  Early 
sown,  a  bushel  is  sufficient;  late,  a  bushel  and  a  half  to  the 
acre,  and  sometimes  more,  may  be  necessary. 

Grain  for  seed  should  be  selected  from  the  cleanest  and  most 
thrifty  parts  of  the  field;  a  constant  attention  to  this,  will  cause 
a  permanent  improvement  in  the  kind.  By  gathering  single 
heads,  remarkable  for  their  early  maturity,  size,  &c.,  and  pro- 
pagating from  them,  improved  varieties  may  be  gradually 
obtained. 

The  quantity  of  seed  per  acre,  varies  according  to  circum- 
stances. It  should  vary  with  the  time  of  sowing,  and  with  the 
size  of  the  grain.  Late,  requires  more  than  early  sowing;  and 
large  and  full  seed  should  be  in  greater  quantity  than  that 
which  is  small,  in  order  to  compensate  for  the  less  number 
contained  in  a  bushel.  Much,  therefore,  must  be  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  farmer,  who  must  take  into  consideration  the 
time  of  sowing,  the  quality  and  preparation  of  the  soil,  as  well 
as  the  plumpness  or  the  shrivelled  state  of  the  seed  wheat. 

The  proper  time  for  sowing,  must  not,  in  any  case,  be  ne- 
glected; an  error  of  a  few  days  on  this  point,  will  not  unfre- 
quently  diminish,  but  in  some  instances  prove  ruinous  to  the 
crop.  But,  as  a  large  crop  cannot  be  sowed  in  a  few  days,  it 
is  better  to  sow  a  fortnight  too  early,  than  a  week  too  late. 

Wheat,  and  all  the  ceraelia,  have  the  common  property  of 
sending  out  numerous  shoots  from  the  roots  during  their 
growth.  This  natural  process  is  termed  tillering,  and  is 
familiar  to  all  farmers. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  too,  that  often  the  roots  of  the  grasses 
are  partially  raised  above  ground,  in  which  case  the  plant  be- 
comes feeble  or  perishes.  This  accident  sometimes  occurs 
from  too  thick  sowing,  and  too  rapid  growth  in  that  state. 
But  it  is  more  frequently  produced  by  the  sudden  contraction 
and  expansion  of  the  soil  by  alternate  frosts  and  thaws  in  win- 
ter; and  in  this  case,  the  wheat  is  said  to  be  thrown  out. 

To  promote  the  process  of  tillering,  and  sometimes  to  pre- 
vent the  throwing  out  of  the  plants,  it  is  found  to  be  beneficial 
to  give  a  certain  tillage  to  the  growing  wheat  in  spring,  by 
means  of  the  hoe,  the  harrow,  or  the  roller.  When  wheat  is 
sown  in  rows,  this  is  done  by  the  hoe;  when  broad-cast,  by 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  gg 

means  of  the  harrow;  and  in  either  case,  the  roller  may  be 
also  used. 

But  this  tillage  is  given  to  it  incidentally,  and  in  the  course 
of  another  operation  to  be  described,  the  sowing  of  the  seeds 
of  clovers  and  the  cultivated  grasses;  a  system  very  prevalent 
in  the  grain  regions  of  Europe,  and  to  some  considerable  ex- 
tent known  to  American  practice.  Like  all  other  systems,  it 
has  its  advocates  and  opponents;  but  so  far  as  we  are  able  to 
judge  from  experience  and  the  testimony  of  others,  the  mass 
of  evidence  is  decidedly  favourable  to  the  practice. 

The  seeds  of  these  plants  are  sown  as  early  as  the  state  of 
the  weather  and  other  circumstances  will  justify,  in  the  spring, 
upon  the  surface  of  land  on  which  the  grain  crops  have  been 
previously  sown.  They  grow  up  under  the  shade  of  the  latter, 
and  in  the  following  season  they  are  fit  for  use. 

When  the  crops  of  grain  with  which  they  are  to  be  sown, 
are  sown  in  spring,  they  are  generally  put  in  the  ground  to- 
gether. But  when  the  crop,  as  of  wheat,  has  been  sown  in 
the  previous  autumn,  the  grass  seeds  are  sown  among  the  grow- 
ing plants,  and  covered  by  being  harrowed  or  rolled. 

The  minute  seeds  of  these  plants,  consisting  of  the  clovers 
and  rye-grass,  and  other  grasses,  are,  previously  to  being  sown, 
carefully  mixed  together,  sown  by  the  hand,  or  what  is  better, 
by  the  broad-cast  sowing  machine.  In  either  case,  the  harrow 
follows,  giving  a  double  turn  along  the  ridges;  and  the  roller 
may  also  follow,  crossing  the  ridges,  and  going  over  the  ground 
once.  In  some  cases  the  roller  alone  is  used  to  cover  the 
seeds. 

The  clovers  and  grasses  thus  sown,  rarely  flower  in  the  first 
year.  They  grow  under  shelter  of  the  stems  of  the  larger 
crops,  and  they  are  seen  in  the  autumn  among  the  stubble, 
covering  the  surface.  They  continue  to  grow,  shoot  vigorous- 
ly forth  in  the  spring,  and  are  in  their  greatest  luxuriance  in 
the  following  summer,  when  they  are  frequently  termed  new 
or  one  year's  old  grass. 

The  grass  seeds  being  sown,  no  further  culture  can  be  given 
to  the  wheat  during  its  growth,  nor  any  weeding,  except 
pulling  up  or  cutting  over  above  ground  the  larger  weeds,  such 
as  docks,  thistles,  cockle,  and  the  like. 

Wheat  sometimes  becomes  too  luxuriant  in  the  spring,  espe- 
cially when  sown  early,  and  then  it  is  apt  to  be  lodged,  and 
run  to  straw  more  than  to  produce  grain.  In  this  case  it  may 
be  pastured  in  the  early  part  of  spring  with  sheep. 

The  produce  of  this  crop  varies  greatly  with  the  seasons,  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  the  character  of  the  seed,  and  the  mode  of 
cultivation.    A  fair  good  crop  may  be  held  to  be  thirty  bushels 


90  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

per  acre;  but  the  average  produce  of  the  United  States,  will  not, 
probably,  exceed  twenty  bushels  per  acre.  The  weight  of  the 
straw  is  reckoned  to  be  about  double  that  of  the  grain.  An 
acre,  therefore,  yielding  twenty-five  bushels  of  grain,  at  the 
rate  of  sixty  pounds  per  bushel,  would  yield  about  three  thou- 
sand pounds  of  straw. 

The  straw  of  wheat  is  applied  to  various  purposes  of  rural 
economy  and  the  arts.  Its  intrinsic  value  must  vary,  however, 
according  to  its  feeding  properties — the  quantity  of  manure 
into  which  it  may  be  converted,  when  used  as  a  litter — its 
fitness  to  be  employed  as  thatch,  for  which  purpose,  from  its 
long  and  rigid  stems,  it  is  generally  well  suitable — or  its  use  in 
manufactures.*  Its  price  depends  upon  its  vicinity  to  large 
towns,  where  it  is  wanted  for  litter. 

DISEASES  OF  WHEAT. 

Wheat  is  subject  to  various  accidents  and  diseases,  some  of 
them  peculiar  to  itself.  The  most  dreaded  and  destructive  of 
the  diseases  to  which  it  is  liable,  is  blight,  so  termed  from  its 
eflfects  upon  the  ear,  or  mildew  from  its  supposed  cause,  namely, 
mel-dew,  from  an  old  opinion  that  it  was  produced  by  honey- 
dew  falling  from  the  air. 

In  many  of  the  wheat  growing  sections  of  the  Union,  these 
diseases  are  denominated  rust  and  smut;  under  the  term  rust, 
blight  and  mildew  are  included.  But  these  diseases,  if  they 
are  really  distinct,  are  nevertheless  so  nearly  allied,  that  for  all 
practical  purposes  they  may  be  considered  as  one. 

It  may  be  assumed  as  a  principle,  that  the  immediate  cause 
of  every  distemper  which  attacks  the  plants  of  wheat,  may  be 
ascribed  to  the  state  of  the  season,  combined  with  the  circum- 
stances of  soil,  situation  and  seed.  It  is  indeed  not  necessary 
to  class  them;  but  the  great  body  of  farmers  consider  them  as 
distinct  disorders,  arising  solely  from  the  influence  of  the  at- 
mosphere. 

Mildew  they  regard  as  a  disease  which  affects  the  ear,  though, 
in  general,  it  is  apparently  more  injurious  to  the  straw,  and  is 

*  The  Leghorn  manufacture  of  wheat-straw  into  the  well  known  Leghorn 
or  Tuscany  hats,  has  lately  been  inquired  into,  and  detailed  in  several  publi- 
cations. The  variety  of  wheat  cultivated  in  Tuscany  for  this  purpose  is  known 
as  the  grano  marzuolo,  a  variety  of  summer  wheat  with  long  bearded  ears.  It 
is  cultivated  on  the  sandy  hills  on  both  sides  of  the  Arno.  The  seed  is  sown 
in  March,  very  thick,  and  pulled  when  the  ear  is  fully  shot,  but  before  the  grain 
is  formed.  It  is  then  eighteen  inches  high,  if  the  crop  is  good — it  is  bleached 
as  we  do  flax,  and  afterwards  tied  up  in  bundles  in  the  same  manner,  and  car- 
ried home,  to  have  the  part  between  the  ear  and  the  first  fruit  [joint?]  in  the 
stalk  selected,  that  being  the  only  part  used. — British  Gard.  Mag.,  vol.  v.  p.  70. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  91 

produced  by  causes  somewhat  similar  to  those  which  occasion 
blio-ht,  though  at  a  more  advanced  period  of  the  season.  It 
usually  first  attacks  the  leaf,  and  then  the  straw,  just  at  the  time 
the  grain  is  blooming;  and  when  it  comes  on  immediately  after 
the  first  appearance  of  the  ear,  the  straw  will  also  be  affected; 
but  if  the  grain  be  fully  formed,  then  it  is  but  slightly  dis- 
coloured. 

There  are  many  causes  which  probably  contribute  to  the 
production  of  this  disease,  and  also  to  prevent  the  grain  coming 
to  maturity.  It  is  most  likely  induced  by  the  peculiar  state  of 
the  atmosphere,  during  the  periods  of  flowering  and  ripening; 
or  the  absence  of  some  indispensable  ingredient  in  the  soil. 
This  opinion  appears  to  be  correct,  so  far  as  we  are  yet  able  to 
judge  of  the  peculiar  cause. 

It  is  doubtless  the  lack  of  some  necessary  ingredient  of  the  soil  which  pre- 
vents the  wheat  from  coming  to  maturity.  It  has  been  suggested  by  men  of 
science,  that  lime  is  a  very  important  ingredient  for  the  growing  of  wheat.  It 
has  also  been  ascertained  by  analysis  that  the  lower  soil  contains  double  the 
quantity  of  lime  of  the  upper  soil.  When  wheat  is  sown  on  land  exhausted  by 
frequent  shoal  ploughing,  it  will  produce  smut,  or  the  straw  will  rust,  and  the 
kernel  blight.  I  have  noticed,  and  more  particularly  last  summer,  that  where 
wheat  was  sown  on  land  cultivated  under  the  usual  practice  of  shoal  ploughing, 
it  was  very  smutty;  and  that  when  it  was  sown  on  land  where  the  usual  prac- 
tice was  deep  ploughing,  the  wheat  was  free  from  smut.  If  this  should  be  the 
case  on  further  observation,  it  would  be  evident  that  lime  is  a  great  preventive 
against  smut;  for  by  deep  ploughing  it  turns  up  the  lower  or  sub-soil,  which 
contains  the  greatest  quantity  of  lime,  and  gives  a  greater  facility  to  the  growth 
and  brings  it  to  perfection.  But  when  the  land  is  ploughed  shoal  the  lime  lies 
inactive.  I  have  given  these  hints,  that  some  scientific  growers  of  wheat 
might  make  the  same  observations  and  give  us  the  result  of  their  research. — 
Dr?  Holmes,  Editor  of  the  Maine  Farmer. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Colman,  an  eminent  agriculturist,  and  a 
careful  observer  of  all  things  connected  with  agriculture,  and 
those  branches  of  science  to  which  it  is  allied,  has  furnished 
the  public,  through  some  of  the  early  volumes  of  the  New 
England  Farmer,  with  a  number  of  able  and  highly  instructive 
essays  on  the  culture  of  wheat;  and  after  many  experiments, 
and  careful  and  patient  observation,  he  came  to  the  conclusion, 
(without,  however,  assuming  to  decide  the  question,)  that  the 
disease  was  "atmospheric — occurring  at  a  particular  state  of  the 
plant,  which  rendered  it  peculiarly  liable  to  blight  or  mildew." 

One  experiment  detailed  by  Mr.  Colman,  and  which,  no 
doubt,  had  considerable  weight  in  bringing  him  to  the  conclusion 
to  which  he  arrived,  that  the  cause  was,  most  probably,  atmo- 
spheric, is  too  interesting  to  be  passed  over.  The  following 
is  his  account,  as  published  at  the  time. 

"Three  acres  of  wheat  were  sown  on  some  of  the  best  land 
in  the  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  meadows.  The  greensward 
was  turned  up  in  the  fall,  rolled  and  harrowed;  seed  well  soaked 


92  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

in  brine,  limed,  and  sown  on  the  27th  of  October,  at  the  rate  of 

two  bushels  and  a  half  to  the  acre.  One  half  the  field  was  highly 
manured — to  the  remainder  no  manure  was  applied.  The  seed 
came  up  finely,  and  nothing  could  exceed  the  beauty  and  luxu- 
riance of  the  growth;  most  of  the  field  averaging  more  than 
five  feet  in  height. 

"Above  half  the  field,  including  an  equal  portion  of  the  ma- 
nured and  that  not  manured,  was  passed  over  twice  in  the 
spring,  after  the  grain  had  got  to  be  six  inches  in  height,  with 
a  light  harrow,  drawn  by  one  yoke  of  oxen,  and  three  weeks 
after  was  subjected  to  the  same  process. 

"The  efiect  of  this  was  to  destroy  very  few  of  the  plants,  and 
to  render  the  growth  of  what  remained  much  more  luxuriant, 
producing  such  an  increase  of  the  stem,  and  such  an  extension 
of  the  heads,  as  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  most  casual  observer, 
and  to  induce  several  persons  who  were  ignorant  of  the  process 
to  which  it  had  been  subjected,  to  inquire  for  the  cause  of  the 
difference  in  the  two  parts  of  the  field,  and  to  ask  if  a  different 
kind  of  seed  had  been  used. 

''After  all,  however,  to  my  extreme  disappointment,  the 
whole  field  has  been  blasted,  and  I  shall  hardly  get  back  the 
amount  of  the  seed  sown,  and  that  in  a  small  shrivelled  grain. 
The  crop  is  housed,  but  will  scarcely  repay  the  expense  of 
threshing. 

"Now,  that  this  result  was  not  owing  to  the  use  of  stable 
dung  is  obvious,  because  none  was  used.  In  that  part  of  the 
field  where  the  blight  appeared  to  commence,  and  to  make  most 
rapid  progress,  no  manure  whatever  was  used. 

"It  was  not  owing  to  the  want  of  the  specific  property  in  the 
soil,  as  far  as  that  is  to  be  found  in  lime  and  slaughter-house 
manure,  for  both  of  these  were  employed.  The  seed  was 
limed,  and  the  above  manure  copiously  applied. 

"It  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  the  luxuriance  of  the  crop,  for 
several  pieces  in  the  neighbourhood  have  suffered  equally,  and 
from  the  same  cause,  where  the  cultivation  was  by  no  means  so 
high. 

"It  is  not  a  time  of  universal  failure.  A  good  deal  in  this 
ricinity  is  perfectly  healthy  and  sound;  and  I  have  already 
reaped  on  the  same  farm  a  small  piece  of  wheat,  say  half  an 
acre,  on  higher  land,  which  was  healthy  and  fair,  though  from 
the  condition  of  the  land  it  gave  but  a  small  product.  This, 
however,  though  sowed  at  the  same  time,  was  ready  for  the 
sickle  more  than  a  week  sooner  than  the  other,  from  the  drier 
and  poorer  quality  of  the  soil. 

"As  the  wheat  was  filling  fast,  we  had  frequent  showers,  and 
much  of  whatwe  Yankees  call  muggy  weather.      One  day  in 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  93 

particular  the  air  was  sultry,  the  heat  intense,  and  the  showers 
frequent,  with  intervals  of  sunshine;  and  the  earth  was  steam- 
ing most  profusely. 

"An  intelligent  farmer  in  my  employ,  accustomed  to  the 
cultivation  of  this  grain  in  one  of  the  best  wheat  districts  of 
New  York,  remarked  to  me  that  this  was  very  severe  weather 
for  my  wheat,  and  that  he  feared  I  should  lose  it.  The  rust  in 
fact  appeared  for  the  first  time  the  next  day,  and  rapidly  ex- 
tended itself  over  the  whole  field,  presenting  no  difference 
either  in  the  manured,  and  in  the  parts  not  manured,  and  of 
course  less  luxuriant. 

"Had  my  wheat  been  sown  earlier,  so  as  to  have  been  far- 
ther advanced,  it  would  probably  have  escaped;  had  it  been 
sown  later,  so  as  not  to  have  been  so  far  advanced  as  it  was, 
perhaps  I  should  have  been  as  fortunate.  But  the  occurrence 
of  such  a  peculiar  state  of  the  atmosphere  being  wholly  acci- 
dental, at  least  as  far  as  we  are  concerned,  it  is  impossible  to 
make  any  certain  calculations  about  it." 

The  remedies  against  rust,  mildew  or  blight,  as  laid  down 
in  the  "Code  of  Agriculture,"  by  Sir  John  Sinclair,  are  as 
follows:  Cultivating  hardy  sorts  of  wheat — early  sowing — 
raising  of  early  varieties — thick  sowing — frequent  changes  of 
seed — consolidating  the  soil — using  saline  manures — improv- 
ing the  course  of  crops — extirpating  all  plants  that  are  recep- 
tacles of  rust,  and  by  protecting  the  ears  and  roots  of  wheat  by 
rye  and  other  crops. 

In  the  present  state  of  botanical  knowledge,  as  regards  the 
diseases  of  grain,  it  is  out  of  our  power  to  offer  any  remedy  for 
injuries  arising  from  such  various  and  uncertain  causes.  But 
as  they  seem  to  be  chiefly  occasioned  by  a  close  state  of  the 
atmosphere,  they  may,  probably,  be  partially  guarded  against, 
by  preserving  as  free  a  circulation  as  possible  of  air  among  the 
plants,  by  keeping  the  fences  as  low  as  the  security  of  the  crop 
will  permit;  and  especially  by  drilling  the  grain  instead  of 
sowing  it  broadcast.* 

Smut  is  a  disease  almost  peculiar  to  the  grain  of  wheat.  It 
differs  from  rust  and  mildew  in  this,  that  the  means  of  preven- 
tion are  generally  within  our  power.  The  remedies  are  nu- 
merous, and  such  as  are  calculated  to  destroy  any  noxious 
quality  adhering  to  the  seed  grain,  be  it  the  seeds  of  minute 
parasitic  plants  or  of  animalcule. 

An  European  farmer,f  after  repeated  experiments,  gives  it  as 
his  opinion  that  the  best  preventive  is  to  steep  the  seed  in 
strong  lime  water,  which,  it  is  presumed,  destroys  the  vitality 

*  British  Husbandry,  vol.  ii.  p.  159.  t  F.  Baner. 


94  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS, 

of  tbe  seed  of  the  smut.  It  is  a  general  opinion,  in  this  coun- 
try, founded  on  experience,  that  the  steeping  and  liming  of 
seed  wheat,  is  a  certain  remedy  against  smut. 

The  use  of  fresh  burnt  lime  is  almost  indispensable;  as  lime, 
exposed  for  any  length  of  time  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere, 
will,  in  a  great  measure,  lose  its  causticity.  By  absorbing  car- 
bonic acid  it  is  restored  to  the  state  of  limestone  or  chalk,  and 
its  alkaline  qualities  are  completely  neutralized. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  of  American  agriculturists,*  whose 
opinion  on  these  matters  is  always  received  as  good  authority, 
says,  that  he  is  surprised  to  learn  that  smut  is  still  permitted 
to  adulterate  and  diminish  our  grain  crops,  when  it  is  a  fact 
amply  and  satisfactorily  established,  that  steeping  the  seed 
grain  twelve  hours  in  brine,  and  rolling  it  in  fresh  slaked  lime, 
before  sowing,  will  prevent  the  evil. 

The  pepper-brand  ^nA  dust-brand,  the  two  species  of  smut, 
are  parasitic  plants,  the  minute  seeds  of  which  attach  to  the  grain, 
and  are  propelled  through  the  sap  vessels  of  the  plant  to  the 
germs  of  the  young  grain.  The  salt  and  lime  destroy  the  vi- 
tality of  these  seeds. 

Of  all  the  injuries  to  which  wheat  is  liable,  there  are  per- 
haps none  which  are  more  to  be  dreaded  than^  those  arising 
from  insects  and  icornis,  which  invariably  commit  great  de- 
vastation, and  in  some  seasons  spread  their  ravages  to  a  very 
alarming  extent 

Of  these,  the  various  tribes  of  predatory  insects,  those  known 
under  the  names  of  wheat-fly — hessian-fly — or  v.'eevil,  or  any 
of  their  numerous  varieties,  are  the  most  dangerous;  and  al- 
though treated  of  by  naturalists,  they  have  furnished  no  means 
of  either  a  radical  prevention  or  cure.  The  wheat-fly  gene- 
rally makes  its  appearance  about  the  middle  of  June,  and  its 
operations,  it  is  asserted  by  some,  cover  a  period  of  from  thirty- 
seven  to  thirty-nine  days. 

A  late  American  work  on  Agriculture,!  says,  that  the 
hessian-fly  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  winter  wheat,  in  which  state 
it  remains  until  the  plant  has  acquired  some  growth;  the  grub 
then  feeds  upon  it,  and  the  plant,  having  its  nourishment  in- 
tercepted, sickens. 

'•In  the  spring  i*t  assumes  the  perfect  form,  as  soon  as  the 
weather  is  moderately  warm,  and  immediately  proceeds  to  de- 
posit its  eggs  in  the  wheat,  j  Wheat  grown  on  highly  culti- 
vated land  is  not  generally  much  injured  by  this  fly. 

*  Jesse  Bcel,  E>q..  of  Albany,  New  York,  conductor  of  ibe  Cultivator, 
+  The  Practical  Farmer,  by  an  American,  New  York,  1839,  8ro. 
1  See  a  very  interesting  paper  on  the  Wheat  Fly  by  Observer^  in  Farmers' 
Cabinet,  vok  i.  page  289,  also  pages  273  and  306. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  95 

No  individual  probably,  has  done  more  to  investigate  this 
subject,  and  find  a  remedy  for  the  evil,  than  James  Worth, 
Esq.,  of  Newton,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  Me- 
moirs of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  Agriculture,  for  the  year 
1823,  contain  several  communications,  giving  in  detail  the  re- 
sults of  his  indefatigable  and  valuable  researches. 

He  recommends  a  change  in  the  course  of  crops  as  the  most 
effectual  remedy,  viz:  break  up  for  wheat,  follow  with  corn, 
and  then  oats  and  grass  seed,  ploughing  and  harrowing  the 
stubble  immediately  after  harvest,  and  a  second  time  be- 
fore May,  by  which  means  great  numbers  of  insects  will  be 
destroyed  in  the  pupa  state. 

The  best  remedies  seem  to  consist  of  a  good  tilth — a  rich 
but  not  wet  soil — late  sowing — ploughing  in  the  stubble  imme- 
diately after  harvest — and  perhaps  feeding  off  the  crop  in  the 
spring  with  sheep. 

There  is  a  case  cited  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Board  of  Agri- 
culture of  New  York,  in  which  two  bushels  of  lime  were  sown 
upon  an  acre  of  wheat  infested  by  the  fly,  while  there  was  a 
heavy  dew  upon  the  ground.  Two  adjoining  acres,  same 
quality  of  ground,  on  which  wheat,  of  the  same  kind,  was 
sowed  at  the  same  time,  were  not  treated  with  lime.  The  re- 
sult was,  that  the  limed  wheat  gave  a  good  crop,  the  other  not 
half  of  an  average  crop. 

Samuel  Tallant,  of  Canterbury,  New  Hampshire,  states, 
that  on  the  first  of  July,  1838,  a  few  flies,  known  as  the  weevil 
or  grain  worm,  was  discovered  on  his  grain.  He  examined 
them  from  day  to  day,  and  found  that  they  increased  with 
such  rapidity  as  to  threaten  obstruction  to  his  crop.  He  scat 
tered,  by  way  of  experiment,  a  bushel  of  slaked  lime  on  about 
half  an  acre  of  the  wheat,  while  it  was  wet  with  dew. 

The  ensuing  morning  he  visited  this  piece  of  wheat,  and 
after  a  careful  examination,  he  found  but  a  solitary  fly  or  worm 
among  it,  while  in  all  the  other  parts  of  the  field,  he  found  the 
fly  had  vastly  increased  in  number.  He  commenced  imme- 
diately liming  the  whole  field,  but  his  lime  falling  short,  and 
the  case  being  one  admitting  of  no  delay,  he  had  recourse  to 
ashes,  which  he  bountifully  applied.  The  worm  or  fly  dis- 
appeared immediately,  and  the  field  gave  a  very  fair  crop  of 
good  sound  wheat. 

We  ca'nnot  better  conclude  our  notice  of  so  important  an 
article  in  agriculture  as  wheat,  than  by  giving,  almost  entire, 
a  paper  on  its  cultivation  by  H.  Hickock,  Esq.,  read  before 
the  State  Agricultural  Society  of  New  York. 

There  are  two  causes  which,  when  our  winters  are  open,  operate  injurious- 
ly on  wheat  crops.    One  is,  the  high  and  dry  winds  which  prevail  in  March; 


9@  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

these  blow  off  the  soil  in  many  situations,  and,  by  leaving  the  roots  of  wheat 
exposed,  occasion  their  destruction.  Another  cause  is  the  heaving  of  the  soil, 
occasioned  by  the  alternations  of  cold  and  warm  weather.  The  water  in  the 
soil,  in  the  act  of  freezing,  expands  and  raises  up  theearth,  and  also  the  roots  of 
the  wheat-plants  which  the  earth  embraces;  when  a  thaw  succeeds,  the  earth 
being  heaviest,  falls  down  first  and  leaves  the  roots  of  wheat  a  little  elevated, 
and  by  repeated  changes  of  the  weather,  the  roots  are  so  far  thrown  out  as  to 
perish. 

Farmers,  when  convenient,  usually  sow  their  winter  grain  early  in  Septem- 
ber, upon  a  supposition  which  guides  their  common  practice,  that  grain  thus 
early  sown  withstands  best  the  action  of  unfavourable  seasons.  This  supposi- 
tion is  founded  upon  the  very  plausible  theory,  that,  as  the  oldest  roots  will  be 
longer  and  more  numerous  and  take  a  firmer  hold  of  the  soil  than  those  which 
are  younger,  they  will  be  the  least  exposed  to  be  thrown  above  it,  and  at  the 
same  time,  from  their  greater  strength,  be  more  tenacious  of  life.  But  expe- 
rience informs  us,  that  wheat,  sown  aslaie  as  the  first  or  even  the  second  week 
in  October,  very  often  survives  with  less  injury  than  that  which  is  sown  in  the 
early  part  of  September.  Indeed  farmers  very  generally  admit,  as  the  result 
of  their  experience,  that  rye,  who  selaws  of  vegetation  must  be  nearly  the 
same  as  those  of  wheat,  sown  so  late  in  the  season  as  barely  to  come  up,  is 
most  likely  to  withstand  an  unfavourable  winter.  Still  the  very  plausible 
theory  which  has  been  mentioned  very  generally  induces  them  to  sow  rye 
early  as  well  as  wheat,  in  direct  opposition  to  conclusions  which  have  been 
drawn  from  actual  observation. 

An  experiment  was  made  last  autumn  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  some 
further  information  on  this  subject.  On  the  first  day  of  September  last  I  ex- 
cavated a  spot  of  ground  six  feet  square.  On  the  one  side,  the  excavation  was 
about  six  inches  deep,  on  the  opposite  side,  its  depth  did  not  exceed  one  inch. 
Seed  wheal  was  placed  over  the  bottom,  so  that  the  kernels  were  about  four 
inches  distant  from  each  other,  the  excavation  was  then  filled  up.  The  soil 
was  a  suitable  mixture  of  gravel,  sand  and  clay,  for  wheat,  and  of  ordinary 
fertility.  This  was  the  latter  part  of  the  extreme  drought  which  prevailed 
last  summer,  and  the  soil  was  dry,  warm  and  finely  pulverized  before  it  was 
thrown  on  the  wheat.  These  circumstances,  except  the  extreme  dryness  of 
the  soil,  were  highly  favourable  to  the  vegetation  of  seed  at  the  greatest  depth 
in  the  earth. — On  the  fourth  of  the  month  there  was  a  heavy  shower,  which 
not  only  wet  the  soil,  but  beat  it  down  close  and  hard.  On  the  ninth  of  the 
month  the  plants  began  to  show  themselves;  but  none  came  up  from  a  greater 
depth  than  about  three  and  one-half  inches.  Two  or  three  days  after  the 
second  leaf  had  displayed  itself,  some  of  the  roots  were  taken  up  and  examin- 
ed. It  now  appeared  that  nearly  an  inch  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  a 
new  joint  was  formed  Avhich  was  the  basis  of  the  second  leaf,  and  also  of  anew 
system  of  roots.  There  were  now  two  tiers  of  roots;  the  seed  or  knot  adjoin- 
ing it,  had  generated  the  lower  tier,  and  the  new  joint  the  upper  one.  Those 
two  tiers  or  systems  of  roots  were  connected  together  by  a  root  resembling  a 
cord  or  thread,  and,  in  one  instance,  I  cut  off  this  connecting  thread  and  trans- 
planted the  upper  part.  This  grew  with  little  apparent  check  from  its  cur- 
tailment; but  the  under  part  died,  although  the  soil  above  it  was  opened  so  as 
to  atford  it  the  advantages  of  air  and  solar  heat.  On  the  20th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, I  examined  another  plant,  which  had  its  two  regular  formations  as 
expected,  and,  what  was  not  expected,  a  blade  was  discovered  about  an  inch 
long,  which  had  started  from  the  lower  system  of  roots,  and  would  doubtless 
have  found  its  way  to  the  surface,  had  it  not  been  disturbed.  It  is  to  be  re- 
marked, that  this  plant  sprung  from  seed  placed  under  cover  of  nearly  four 
inches  of  soil,  which  was  about  an  inch  deeper  than  any  of  the  other  plants 
examined,  and  that  some  of  the  tops  of  the  wheat  plants  had  been  eaten  oS' 
and  trodden  down  by  accidental  intrusion;  a  fact  unregarded  at  the  time.  On 
the  26th  day  of  September  I  examined  another  root,  expecting  to  see  the  blade 
from  below  more  perfectly  developed,  none,  however,  was  discovered;  but  a 
third  tier  of  roots  was  found  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  which  proceeded 
from  the  second  as  that  had  from  the  first  system  of  roots.  On  the  16th  day  of 
October  I  placed  some  seed  wheat  about  two  inches  in  the  ground;  their  delay 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  97 

in  coming  up  induced  me  to  suppose  that  they  had  perished  from  cold  and 
wetness;  "but  at  the  expiration  of  three  weeks  the}-  made  their  appearance,  and 
although  the  ground  remained  open  several  weeks  longer,  no  second  leaf  ap- 
peared, of  course  no  joint  or  second  system  of  roots  had  been  formed.  The 
very  different  formations  in  the  roots  of  wheat,  which  this  experiment  has 
disclosed,  proceeded  from  causes  appropriate  and  capable  of  being  ascertained, 
but  to  distinguish  them  with  certainty,  oiher  trials  must  be  made  and  conduct- 
ed with  greater  accuracy  than  the  one  of  which  an  account  has  been  given. 

From  these  experiments,  though  inaccurate,  some  conclusions  may  perhaps 
be  drawn  of  practical  use.  All  plants,  which  lire  over  winter,  possess  an  ap- 
paratus, bv  which  thev  supplv  themselves,  in  autumn,  with  food  for  iheir  sus- 
tenance in  spring.— This  food  consists  mostly  of  saccharine  matter  which  is 
enclosed  in  a  proper  receptacle.  When  this  receptacle  is  formed  near  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  the  fermentation  of  its  contents  is  excited  by  frequent 
changes  of  weather,  the  saccharine  matter  is  decomposed,  and  the  plant 
perishes  from  the  want  of  food,  and  perhaps  also  from  a  rupture  of  its  vessels. 
All  wheat,  shallow  sowed,  must  have  its  reservoirs  of  food  but  slightly 
covered  with  soil,  and  of  course  they  are  full  exposed. — When  wheat  is  sown 
early  at  any  depth,  a  second  and,  sometimes,  at  least,  a  third  system  of  roots 
is  formed  within  an  inch  of  the  surface.  In  these  many  stems  originate,  each 
of  which  has  its  receptacle  of  nourishment  at  its  base,  and  it  is  quite  certain 
that  in  most  instances,  the  food  which  was  contained  in  the  seed  and  the  ad- 
joining knot  is  entirely  exhausted  by  the  supplies  of  nourishment  it  affords  the 
upper  portions  of  the'plant.  The  life  of  early  sowed  wheat  must  then,  like 
that  which  is  shallow  sowed,  depend  upon  the  preservation  of  the  reservoirs  of 
saccharine  matter  which  are  placed  at  or  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
of  course  exposed  to  the  unfavourable  action  of  variable  weather  during 
winter. 

Wheat,  which  is  late  sowed,  generates  no  second  blade  or  new  system  of 
roots,  and  of  course  the  nourishment  for  spring's  use  is  retained  in  the  recep- 
tacle which  adjoins  the  seed.  If  then  we  sow  sufficiently  late  in  auturnn,  and 
place  the  seed  deep  in  the  soil,  we  shall  provide  every  security  against  the 
hazards  of  bad  weather  which  the  nature  of  the  case  admits  of. 

In  the  ordinary  course  of  husbandry,  some  of  the  wheat  is  necessarily  de- 
posited at  considerable  depth  in  the  soil,  and  when  this  takes  place  suthciently 
late  in  the  season,  the  receptacle  of  food  will  be  protected  by  its  covering  of 
earth,  and  a  partial  crop  will  often  be  realized,  although  there  may  be,  when 
the  spring  opens,  no  signs  of  life  on  the  surface  of  the  field.  In  such  cases  as 
the  destruction  of  the  blade,  which  issues  from  the  seed-roots  in  autumn,  can 
be  of  little  importance,  one  would  suppose  that  the  surviving  plants  would 
grow  the  more  vigorously,  from  their  being  less  in  number,  and,  by  tillering, 
produce  many  stems  with  large  well  filled  ears;  such  however  iS  not  the  fact; 
usually  the  stems  are  single  and  the  heads  are  not  large.  To  account  for  this, 
it  must  be  recollected  that,  after  the  ground  has  thawed  in  spring,  the  earth 
settles  and  often  becomes  so  extremely  hard  that  doubtless  many  plants  die, 
in  their  struggle  to  overcome  the  opposing  resistance,  and  the  surprise  is,  that 
any  should  prossess  vigour  enough  to  protrude  even  a  single  stem  through  the 
hard  earth  that  covers  it. 

From  this  view  of  the  subject,  the  practice  may  be  'recommended,  of  ef- 
fectually harrowing  the  field  iu  the  spring  after  the  ground  has  settled,  in 
order  to' supplv  the  plant  with  fresh  air  and  give  a  free  passage  to  its  upward 
growth.  After  the  harrow  has  been  used,  the  roller  ought  to  be  employed  to 
reset  such  roots  as  have  been  displaced  and  diminish  the  evaporation  of  mois- 
ture. 

In  England  a  wheat  plant  was  taken  up,  separated  into  eighteen  parts  and 
replanteti,  and  by  successive  divisions  and  replantations,  a  crop  of  three  and 
one-third  pecks  of  wheat  was  obtained  in  less  than  eighteen  months  from  the 
lime  the  seed  was  sown.  If  the  roots  of  wheat  can  be  so  minutely  divided  and 
successfully  replanted,  there  is  little  danger  that  the  freest  use  of  the  harrow 
ean  be  injurious,  provided  the  roller  be  also  used.  The  fact  appears  to  be, 
that  nothing  is  necessary  to  the  vernal  growth  of  the  plant,  but  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  apparatus  which  contains  the  saccharine  matter  which  is  its  proper 

9 


gg  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

vernal  food;  so  that  if  the  roots  and  top  be  cut  off,  and  the  bulb  be  planted  in 
a  genial  soil,  the  plant  will  grow. 

Notwithstanding  the  arguments  which  have  been  urged  in  favour  of  sowing 
wheat  late,  it  must  be  conceded  that,  when  early  sown  and  our  fields  are  cul- 
tivated in  the  usual  manner,  it  produces  the  largest  crop,  if  it  survive  the  cold 
season.  Whether  such  improvements  may  not  be  made,  as  to  combine  the 
benefits  of  a  sure  and  large  crop,  is  a  question  still  open  to  investigation;  the 
probability  is,  that  both  advantages  may  be  secured,  by  a  more  correct  know- 
ledge of  the  proper  time  to  sow,  and  of  the  best  methods  of  culture. 

In  the  first  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of 
Agriculture,  Arts  and  Manufactures,  instituted  in  the  state  of  New  York,  it  is 
staled  that,  in  Huntington,  Suffolk  county,  fifty-two  bushels  of  wheat  had  been 
raised  by  manure  on  an  acre  of  land;  and  Mr.  Downs  is  said  to  have  raised  on 
a  poor  gravelly  dry  soil,  by  the  use  of  fish  as  a  manure,  at  the  rate  of  128 
bushels  of  rye  an  acre.  In  this  case,  the  rye  would  doubtless  have  lodged  and 
been  of  little  value,  were  it  not  that  it  was  twice  eaten  off  by  his  neighbours' 
sheep  which  broke  into  the  lot;  once  when  the  rye  was  nine  inches  high,  and 
again  when  it  was  about  six  inches  high. 

The  production  of  so  large  a  crop  of  wheat  and  of  rj'e  must  have  proceeded 
from  causes  which  are  steady  and  uniform  in  their  operation,  and  if  all  the 
circumstances  which  had  concurred  to  produce  them,  had  been  distinguished 
and  noted  down,  similar  crops  might  have  been  again  raised.  Some  things 
which  occurred  during  the  cultivation  of  this  rye  crop,  may  be  ascribed  to  ac- 
cident or  chance,  so  far  as  Mr.  Downs'  sagacity  was  concerned,  but  the  causes 
which  proximately  occasioned  the  crop,  did  not  work  by  accident  or  by  chance, 
but  agreeably  to  laws  or  rules  from  which  they  never  deviate. — This  uni- 
formity of  operation  lays  the  foundation  for  making  future  discoveries,  and 
brings  within  the  grasp  of  our  faculties  the  knowledge  of  increasing  our  crops 
by  methods  the  least  laborious  and  expensive. 

The  period  may  arrive  when  the  farmer  shall  pursue  his  methods  of  cul- 
ture with  an  anticipation  of  the  consequences  which  will  result,  analogous  to 
that  of  the  mechanician  in  the  construction  of  a  machine,  and  when,  by  direct 
means,  he  shall  procure  greater  crops  than  ever  were  obtained  by  mere  em- 
pirical trials. 

Time  was  when  the  greatest  philosophers  taught  the  doctrine,  that  all  things 
pertaining  to  the  surface  of  the  earth  were  too  irregular  and  too  much  under 
the  governance  of  chance,  to  admit  of  scientific  inquiry;  this  error  has,  within 
the  two  last  centuries,  been  dispelled.  But  a  similar  error,  in  regard  to  rural 
affairs,  is  embraced  by  almost  all  our  practical  farmers,  and  the  task  of  cor- 
recting and  exposing  it,  is  devolved,  it  would  seem,  upon  the  unaided  efforts 
of  a  few  individuals.    Here  then  is  the  difficulty. 


2.    RYE. 
Of  the  genus  Secale.  —  There  is  but  one  cultivated  species. 

According  to  some,  Rye  is  a  native  of  the  Island  of  Crete, 
but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  any  country  can  be  now  ascer- 
tained to  be  its  native  soil.  It  has  been  cultivated  from  time 
immemorial,  and  is  considered  as  coming  nearer  in  its  proper- 
ties to  wheat  than  any  other  grain. — Loudon. 

It  is  more  extensively  grown  than  wheat  on  most  parts  of 
the  continent  of  Europe,  being  a  more  certain  crop,  and  one 
which  requires  much  less  culture  and  manure.  It  is  the  bread 
corn  of  Germany  and  Russia,  Switzerland  and  Poland,  and 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS,  99 

other  countries,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  New  Eng- 
land states,  where  it  is  generally  combined  with  corn  meal  in 
the  fabrication  of  bread. 

There  is  but  one  kind  of  rye,  but  this,  says  the  "Farmer's 
Assistant,"  may  be  made  either  winter  rye  or  spring  rye,  by 
gradually  habituating  it  to  different  times  of  sowing.  Take 
winter  rye,  for  instance,  and  sow  it  later  and  later  each  fall, 
and  it  may  at  length  be  sown  in  the  spring — and  then  it  be- 
comes spring  rye.  On  the  contrary,  sow  spring  rye  very  late 
in  the  fall,  at  first,  and  you  may  gradually  sow  it  earlier  each 
succeeding  year,  until  it  may  even  be  sown  in  May,  and  used 
the  first  season  for  pasture,  or  mowing,  and  then  grown  to  per- 
fection the  second  year. 

Rye,  with  respect  to  its  mode  of  cultivation,  resembles 
wheat;  but  it  can  be  grown  upon  inferior  soils,  and  requires, 
as  before  observed,  less  culture,  manure  and  attention.  It  is  a 
fit  occasion  here  to  observe,  that  this  idea,  having  taken  pos- 
session of  the  minds  of  many  farmers,  and  being  followed  out 
in  practice,  will  satisfactorily  account  for  light  crops.  If  good 
crops  of  any  grain  are  expected,  they  should  receive  proper 
attention.     This  should  be  borne  in  mind. 

Soils  of  a  sandy  or  gravelly  texture  are  the  most  natural  for 
rye.  Almost  every  kind  of  dry  soil  is  more  or  less  suited  to 
its  growth.  It  will  produce  good  crops  on  poor  soils;  and  pro- 
digious crops  of  it  may  be  raised  on  such  soils  as  are  suitable 
and  made  very  rich.  Rye  raised  on  upland  makes  much  better 
flour  than  that  raised  on  low  or  damp  lands. 

Rye  may  be  sown  in  autumn,  or  it  may  be  sown  in  spring, 
and  this  circumstance  afiects  the  habits  of  the  ripening  of  the 
plant.  The  winter  rye  is  sown  in  autumn,  generally  at  the 
same  time  as  wheat;  but  not  later  than  in  all  the  month  of  Oc- 
tober, except  in  cases  of  emergency.  The  spring  rye,  with 
oats,  or  as  early  in  spring  as  the  weather  will  allow.  Rye 
shoots  into  the  ear  sooner  than  wheat,  and  ripens  earlier.  It 
stands  drought  better  than  wheat,  but  is  more  apt  to  suffer  in- 
jury from  wetness.  It  is  a  hardier  plant  than  wheat,  and  less 
subject  to  the  attacks  of  insects  and  diseases.  Some  farmers 
find  its  culture  profitable — more  so  than  other  grains. 

The  seed  is  generally  sown  in  September,  the  quantity  of 
seed  to  the  acre  varying  according  to  circumstances.  Early 
sown  requires  less  seed  to  the  acre.  In  Europe  from  two  to 
three  bushels  per  acre  are  sown;  in  this  country  from  thirty- 
six  to  forty-eight  quarts.  It  is  not  customary  to  steep  it,  but 
this  precaution  can  however  do  no  harm,  for  it  is  not  wholly 
free  from  disease;  and  at  all  events  grain  should  never  be 


100  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

sown,  unless  it  be  in  a  perfect  state  of  soundness  and  matu- 
rity. 

Rye  usually  rises  to  a  greater  height  than  wheat,  produces  a 
thinner  stem,  but  a  great  weight  of  straw.  The  straw  is  hard, 
wiry,  little  esteemed  for  fodder,  but  is  used  for  thatch  and  other 
purposes.  It  is  well  suited  for  the  manufacture  of  straw-hats; 
and,  when  intended  for  this  latter  purpose,  it  is  sown  very 
thick,  pulled  green,  and  bleached  by  exposure  to  the  air. 

Though  free  from  the  diseases  of  wheat,  rye  is  yet  subject 
to  a  peculiar  one.  This  is  the  ergot,  a  fungous  plant,  which, 
though  it  is  found  on  other  gramineous  [like  or  pertaining  to 
grass,  grassy]  plants,  is,  nevertheless,  more  especially,  if  not 
almost  exclusively,  the  peculiar  disease  of  rye. 

It  is  a  long  cartilaginous-like  substance,  taking  the  place  of 
the  grain  and  projecting  from  the  ear.  It  chiefly  prevails  in 
humid  seasons,  in  close  situations,  or  where  the  soil  is  wet. 
Animals  when  in  a  state  of  liberty,  refuse  it;  and  ■when  used 
in  quantity  among  bread,  it  is  said  to  be  highly  pernicious. 

When  sown  early,  rye  is  often  depastured  in  autumn  by 
calves,  sheep,  and  even  cows,  without  prejudice  to  the  crop;  it 
is  even  an  advantage.  It  is  often  sown  as  a  soiling  crop,  to  be 
cut  in  spring,  and  fed  to  stock.  The  quality  of  the  flour  is 
improved  by  the  grain  being  cut  before  it  becomes  perfectly 
hard. 

There  is  an  instance  mentioned  in  the  Farmer's  Assistant,  of  a  gravelly  soil 
being  highly  manured  and  sowed  with  rj'e,  in  which  the  rye  was  twice  suc- 
cessivel}'^  eaten  off  close  to  the  ground  b\'  sheep  breaking  in  after  it  had  ac- 
quired a  height  of  about  nine  inches  the  first  time,  and  six  inches  the  latter. 
These  croppings,  however,  only  served  to  make  it  grow  thicker  and  stronger 
than  before;  and  when  harvested  it  produced  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  author  of  the  above  account  supposed 
that  the  crop  would  have  been  lost  by  lodging,  had  it  not  been  for  the  two  suc- 
cessive croppings  of  the  sheep,  and  suggests  tiie  expediency  of  trying  similar 
experiments  with  wheat. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  winter  rye  may  be  sown  early  in  the  spring,  and 
used  as  pasture  during  the  season;  and  that  it  may  be  sown  at  the  usual  time, 
and  serve  for  a  sheep  pasture  awhile  during  the  next  spring  without  injury  to 
the  crop.  It  may  also  be  mowed  for  hay  two  or  three  times  during  the  sum- 
mer, when  sown  in  the  spring.  But  in  such  culture  the  ground  should  have 
much  more  seed  than  the  usual  allowance,  which  for  early  sowing  in  the  fall 
is  about  a  bushel  to  the  acre,  or  a  bushel  and  a  half  for  later  sowing.  Spring 
rye.  it  is  believed,  should  have  this  latter  allowance,  and  be  sowed  as  early  as 
the  ground  can  be  well  prepared. 

Rye  that  is  intended  for  family  use,  should,  if  the  weather  will  admit,  be 
harvested  even  as  early  as  when  the  rye  is  yet  in  the  milk,  and  left  to  lie  on 
the  ground  for  some  days  to  dry  and  harden.  By  such  management  the  grain 
will  make  a  much  whiter  flour,  though  perhaps  not  quite  as  heavy  as  when  it 
stands  till  it  is  fully  ripe. 

-'  When  rye  is  sown  successively  on  the  same  soil,  the  stubble  should  be 
ploughed  under  as  soon  as  the  crop  is  taken  off,  which  helps  to  improve  the 
ground  and  serves  to  destroy  the  seeds  of  weeds.  It  should  then  lay  until  about 
the  first  of  September,  then  sowed,  and  the  seed  harrowed  in.  Some  have  sup- 
posed that  in  this  waj'  the  crops  will  increase  in  quantity. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  XQl 

3.    BARLEY. 

Genus  Hordeum. 

Under  the  general  term  of  Barley,  is  included  all  grain  that 
is  commonly  used  for  malting.  This  grain  has  been  culti- 
vated from  the  earliest  antiquity;  and  was  much  used  among 
the  Romans,  as  food  for  both  soldiers  and  horses.  Loudon 
says,  that  it  is  not  known  of  what  country  it  is  a  native;  some 
assign  it  to  Tartary,  others  to  Siberia,  and  even  Scotland  has 
been  mentioned. 

Barley  requires  a  rich  soil,  rather  loamy,  but  not  much  in- 
clined to  clay.  The  description  of  a  soil  well  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  barley,  does  not  differ  from  that  of  good  corn  ground. 
Soils  distinguished  for  producing  good  corn,  will,  under  proper 
cultivation,  rarely  fail  in  producing  good  crops  of  barley.  But, 
in  cultivating  the  barley  crop,  good  tillage  and  good  culture 
will  always  be  indispensable.* 

The  ground  should  be  rich,  but  not  made  so  by  the  applica- 
tion of  dung  at  the  time  of  sowing  the  barley.  Ground  should 
always  be  selected  for  this  crop  to  which  dung  was  liberally 
applied  the  preceding  year.  Not  only  must  the  ground  which 
is  intended  for  the  growth  of  barley  be  rich,  but  its  tillage  must 
be  that  of  the  first  order.  The  barley  crop,  much  less  than 
many  others,  will  suffer  itself  to  be  cheated  without  retaliating 
the  injury. 

The  following  account  of  the  culture, — time  and  method  of 
harvesting — produce  and  profits,  is  from  the  pen  of  the  late 
Judge  BuEL,  of  Albany,  New  York. 

"  The  soil  for  barley  should  be  such  as  will  grow  good  turnips,  or  other  green 
crops,  including  clovers,  and  which  embrace  the  varieties  of  loams  and  sands 
that  are  not  wet,  or  very  dry  and  poor.  Indeed,  I  have  taken  my  crops,  and 
they  have  been  pretty  good,  from  my  lightest  turnip  soils.  Barley  cannot  be 
cultivated  to  advantage  upon  stiff,  heavy,  and  wet  grounds,  or  on  such  as  are 
of  a  cold  and  tenacious  quality.  This  crop  occupies  the  ground  but  about  three 
months;  and  it  is  only  in  a  dry,  light,  mellow  soil  that  its  roots  can  extend 
with  sufficient  facility,  and  supply  the  food  necessary  to  bring  the  grain  to 
rapid  and  perfect  maturity. 

"Prcvioiis  crop.  Crops  that  precede  this  grain  should  be  such  as  leave  the 
ground  mellow  and  free  from  weeds;  and  for  this  reason  hoed  crops  are  to  be 
preferred,  such  as  turnips,  potatoes,  peas,  beans,  &c.  Small  grains  should  not 
precede  it;  they  impoverish  the  soil,  leave  it  foul,  and,  besides,  it  is  contra- 
vening one  of  the  most  salutary  maxims  of  husbandry  to  grow  two  dry  crops 
in  succession.  It  may  follow  clover;  but  if  the  soil  is  heavy,  the  ley  should 
be  ploughed  in  autumn.  Barley  is  successfully  sown  upon  the  fallows  in  Eng- 
land, (not  summer,  but  autumn  fallows,)  and  is  sown  sometimes  after  wheat; 
but  in  the  latter  case  the  turnips  are  pulled,  and  previously  fed  upon  the  stub- 

*  Letters  from  a  Father  to  a  Son.  in  Genesee  Farmer. 
9* 


102  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS, 

ble;  a  practice  which  I  think  is  not  likely  to  obtain  here.  I  have  generally 
sown  barley  after  ruta-baga  or  potatoes,  these  crops  having  received  a  good 
dressing  of  long  yard  or  stable  manure. 

"Manure  should  not  be  applied  to  the  barley,  but  to  the  preceding  crop.  The 
short  period  that  this  grain  occupies  the  ground,  does  not  alford  time  for  the 
manure  to  decompose  and  yield  its  food  to  the  plants;  and,  if  applied  in  ex- 
cess, it  causes  a  too  rank  vegetation,  and  the  straw  lodges  before  the  grain  is 
manured.  When  a  fallow  or  clover  ley  is  employed  and  ploughed  in  autumn, 
dung  may  be  previously  employed  and  ploughed  under. 

"Preparation  of  the  ground.  Where  barley  follows  a  root  or  hoed  crop,  one 
ploughing  will  generally  suffice;  but  in  all  cases  a  complete  pulverization  of 
the  soil  is  necessary;  and  to  effect  this  a  roller  is  often  of  material  benefit.  If 
sown  upon  grass  leys,  ploughed  in  autumn,  the  spring  ploughing  should  be 
shallow,  so  as  to  leave  the  sod  reversed.  But  the  preferable  way  may  be  to 
harrow  the  fallow,  plough  in  the  seed  with  a  light  furrow,  and  smooth  off  with 
the  harrow. 

"  The  seed  and  soicing.  Loudon  enumerates  six  species  and  sub-species  of 
the  barley.  The  kinds  uniformly  cultivated  here  are  the  two,  four,  and  six 
rowed  spring,  {hordeum  vulgarc  and  hordeum  distichon.)  Thin-skinned,  pale, 
plump  seed  should  be  selected.  I  sow  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  sufficiently  dry 
in  spring.  The  3^oung  grain  is  not  hurt  by  the  ordinary  frosts  of  the  latter  part 
of  April  and  May.  I  sow  from  six  to  eight  pecks  per  acre,  according  to  the 
richness  of  the  soil  and  the  forwardness  of  the  season;  the  poorest  ground  and 
the  latest  sowing  requiring  the  most  seed.  In  England,  the  common  quantity 
of  seed  is  from  eight  to  sixteen  pecks.  Our  climate  being  much  warmer  than 
that  of  Great  Britain,  barley  and  other  grains  till  better  with  us,  and  conse- 
quently we  require  less  seed.  We  uniformly  sow  broadcast,  generally  on  the 
fresh  furrow,  and  harrow  in  both  ways;  and  those  who  have  a  roller  use  it  in 
the  finishing  operation.  It  gives  a  smooth  surface,  breaks  down  the  lumps, 
brings  the  earth  in  contact  with  the  seed,  and  if  grass  seeds  have  been  sown, 
its  use  is  doubly  beneficial.  I  steep  my  seeds  twent)'-four  hours  in  a  weak 
solution  of  nitre,  the  crude  kind  of  which  costs  me  only  eight  cents  per  pound 
by  the  quaniitv.  From  the  analysis  and  observations  of  Grisenthwaite,  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  this  salt  is  peculiarly  beneficial  to  the  barley  crop,  the 
grain  yielding  it  on  analysis.  I  have  made  no  comparative  experiments,  but 
i  think  this  step  serviceable.  I  have  applied  to  this  grain,  as  a  top-dressing, 
with  singular  success,  the  powdered  dung  of  pigeons  and  dunghill  fowls,  at 
the  rate  of  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  the  acre. 

"The  crop  admits  of  no  after-culture  when  sown  broadcast.  Yet  the  appli- 
cation of  the  roller,  when  the  plants  are  two  or  three  inches  high,  is  no  doubt 
salutary,  especially  if  there  have  been  no  considerable  rains.  Rolling  gives  a 
salutary  compression  to  the  soil,  which  in  the  spring  is  apt  to  be  loose  and 
porous,  and  full  of  cracks,  by  the  alternation  of  freezing  and  thawing,  or  of 
wet  and  dry  weather;  it  destroys  many  insects;  and,  above  all,  it  partially 
buries  the  crowns  of  the  plants,  and  introduces  a  multiplication  of  seed  stalks. 
I  can  recommend  the  practice  from  experience.  When  grass  seeds  are  sown 
with  barley,  the  luxuriance  of  the  young  grass  sometimes  chokes  the  grain, 
robs  it  of  nutriment,  and  sensibly  diminishes  the  product.  To  obviate  this 
evil  it  has  been  recommended  to  sow  the  grass  seeds  after  the  barley  has  come 
up,  and  to  cover  them  with  a  light  harrow  and  a  roller;  and  it  is  said,  and  I 
think  with  truth,  that  this  operation  will  not  materially  injure  the  grain.  In 
dry  seasons,  the  crop  is  sometimes  attacked  by  worms,  while  young.  In  this 
case  the  roller  should  be  applied  and  sufficient  weight  added  to  require  the 
draught  of  two  or  three  cattle. 

"  Time  a.nd  method  of  harvesting.  When  the  soil  is  rich  and  the  season  pro- 
pitious, this  grain  is  very  liable  to  lodge.  If  this  happens  after  it  has  blossomed, 
no  material  injury  is  sustained  in  the  product;  if  before,  the  crop  is  greatly 
diminished.  This  shows  the  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  making  the  soil 
100  ricl),  and  of  applying  fresh  manure.  Barley  is  known  to  be  ripe  by  the 
disappearance  of  the  reddish  cast  on  the  ear,  or  what  the  English  farmers 
term  red  roan;  by  the  ears  beginning  to  droop,  and  bend  themselves  round 
against  the  stems;  and  by  the  stalks  becoming  brittle,  and  of  a  yellowish  colour. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  103 

This  is  the  particular  period  for  cutting,  as,  if  suffered  to  stand  longer,  the 
heads  break  off,  and  the  grain  wastes  with  the  slightest  touch.  And  it  may  be 
cut  with  the  cradle,  sickle,  or  scythe,  according  to  circumstances.  If  it  stands 
straight,  and  is  not  too  heavy,  the  cradle  is  to  be  preferred;  if  heavy,  or  lodged, 
the  sickle  or  scythe.  But  as  the  grain  is  yet  soft,  and  the  straw  contains  much 
moisture  when  it  ought  to  be  cut,  it  should  be  suffered  to  become  well  dried  in 
the  swath  before  it  is  bound  in  sheaves,  or  carried  to  the  barn  or  stack.  If  cut 
with  the  cradle  or  sickle,  it  is  bound  in  sheaves;  but  the  more  common  prac- 
tice is  to  cut  the  crop  with  the  scythe,  rake  the  ground,  and  load  it  with  the 
barley  fork. 

"Barley  improves  for  malting  by  lying  till  October  before  it  is  threshed; 
though  it  is  often  threshed  immediately  from  the  field.  The  great  difficulty  in 
preparing  it  for  market  is  to  rid  it  of  the  awns.  This  may  be  done  with  flails, 
after  it  has  passed  once  through  the  fanning  mill;  and,  where  it  is  in  great 
quantities,  it  may  be  spread  from  four  to  six  inches  upon  the  barn-floor,  and 
trodden  with  horses-. 

^'■Produce  and  profits.  The  average  product  in  England  is  stated  by  Donald- 
son at  thirty-two  bushels  per  acre.  The  product  in  New  York  varies  from 
fifteen  to  seventy  bushels,  according  to  season  and  soil;  and  I  think  the  average 
is  somewhat  short  of  that  of  Great  Britain.  Compared  with  wheat,  its  pro- 
duct is  as  two  or  two  and  a  half  to  one;  compared  with  oats,  about  equal,  pro- 
vided the  soil  is  adapted  to  this  grain.  It  is,  however,  to  be  remembered,  that 
neither' wheat  nor  oats  are  adapted  to  a  barley  soil;  the  first  requiring  a  more 
stiff  and  tenacious,  and  the  latter  amorecold  and  moist  location.  Theaverage 
price  of  barley  is  at  least  two-thirds  that  of  wheat.  Supposing  wheat,  then,  to 
be  one  dollar  and  twelve  cents  the  bushel,  and  the  product  fifteen  bushels  per 
acre,  and  barley  to  be  seventy-five  cents,  and  the  product  of  an  acre  thirty 
bushels,  and  the  expense  of  cultivation  equal,  the  profits  of  the  barley  will  be 
nearly  as  three  to  two  compared  to  wheat.  Barley,  besides,  is  a  less  preca- 
rious crop,  is  subject  to  fewer  diseases,  and  has  fewer  insect  enemies  to  en- 
counter than  wheat. 

"A  correspondent  of  the  Bath  Agricultural  Society  writes,  'The  last  spring 
being  remarkably  dry,  I  soaked  my  seed  barley  in  the  black  water  taken  from 
a  reservoir,  which  constantly  receives  the  draining  of  my  dung  heap  and  sta- 
bles. As  the  light  grains  floated  on  the  top,  I  skimmed  them  off,  and  let  the  rest 
stand  twenty-four  hours.  On  taking  it  from  the  water,  I  mixed  the  grain  with 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  sifted  wood  ashes,  to  make  it  spread  regularly,  and  sowed 
three  fields  with  it.  The  produce  was  sixty  bushels  per  acre.  I  sowed  some 
other  fields  with  the  same  seed  dry,  but  the  crop,  like  those  of  my  neighbours, 
was  very  poor,  not  more  than  twenty  bushels  per  acre,  and  mixed  with  green 
corn  and  weeds  when  harvested.  I  also  sowed  some  of  my  seed  dry  on  one 
ridge  in  each  of  my  fields,  but  the  produce  was  very  poor,  in  comparison  with 
the  other  parts  of  the  field.'" 

Barley,  on  account  of  the  softness  of  its  stem,  and  tendency 
of  its  ears  to  vegetate,  is  more  apt  to  be  injured,  and  even  de- 
stroyed by  wet  weather,  than  any  other  of  the  cereal  grasses. 
For  this  reason,  the  safer  course,  in  a  humid  climate,  is  to  place 
it,  when  cut  down,  in  sheaves  and  shocks,  and  not  to  allow  it, 
as  is  frequently  practiced,  to  lie  loose  upon  the  ground. 

Barley  being  more  subject  to  injury  from  heating,  requires 
more  precaution  in  the  securing  of  it  than  any  other  grain.  By 
heating  in  the  stack  it  quickly  becomes  discoloured  and  injured. 
It  is  generally  threshed  and  prepared  in  the  same  manner  as 
wheat. 

The  straw  of  barley  is  employed  partially  for  fodder,  but 
most  chiefly  for  litter.  It  is  lighter  than  the  straw  of  oats  and 
wheat,  and  less  esteemed  than  either. 


104  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

The  diseases  of  barley  are  not  so  numerous  or  fatal  as  those 
of  wheat.  It  is  attacked  by  the  larvae  of  certain  flies.  It  is 
also  subject  to  smut,  though  in  a  partial  degree. 


4.    OATS. 

The  oat  is  of  the  genus  Avena.  It  is  the  natural  inhabitant 
of  cold  latitudes;  it  indeed  appears  to  be  indigenous  to  those 
latitudes,  for  it  is  there  found  in  a  wild  state  as  a  most  trouble- 
some weed,  while  it  degenerates  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the 
temperate  zone,  and  in  lower  latitudes  disappears  from  culti- 
vation. 

Professor  Low  enumerates  five  species;  1.  The  brittle 
pointed  oat.  2.  The  short  oat.  3.  The  common  oat.  4. 
Tartarian  oat.  5.  Naked  oat.  Of  the  species  that  have  been 
mentioned,  greatly  the  most  important  is  the  common  oat.  Of 
this  species  there  are  innumerable  sorts,  produced  by  the  eflects 
of  climate,  soil  and  cultivation.  These  may  be  conveniently 
divided  into  three  classes — the  black,  the  dun  or  grey,  and  the 
white. 

Among  the  numerous  sorts  grown  in  this  country,  is  one  of 
recent  introduction — the  skinless  oat — from  a  remote  district 
in  China.  It  possesses  the  extraordinary  advantages  of  being 
not  only  free  from  husk,  but  of  containing  far  more  farinaceous 
matter  than  any  of  the  known  kinds;  of  course  it  is  heavier. 

This  sort  was  introduced  into  England,  from  whence  we  de- 
rived our  supply,  in  1830,  sown  on  the  4th  of  May  of  that 
year,  and  reaped  early  in  August.  The  produce  amounted  to 
twenty-six  barrels  of  fourteen  stone  each*  to  the  Irish  acre. 
In  this  country  it  has  produced  from  thirty  to  sixty-eight 
bushels  the  acre,  but  it  exhibits  a  tendency  to  degenerate. 

To  cultivate  oats  successfully,  good  tillage  and  skilful  hus- 
bandrj'  are  no  less  necessary  than  in  the  culture  of  other  crops. 
It  is  an  erroneous  notion,  though  entertained  by  many,  that 
this  crop  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage,  on  poor  soils,  with- 
out manure,  and  with  slight  culture.t  The  ground  ought  to  be 
well  stirred  up,  pulverized,  and  in  good  condition. 

It  is  universally  admitted  that  oats,  to  insure  a  plentiful  crop, 
should  be  sowed  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  weather  and  the 
state  of  the  ground  will  permit.  There  is  no  danger,  if  the 
ground  be  in  proper  order,  of  sowing  them  too  early.  When 
oats  are  sown  after  corn,  which  is  the  general  practice,  the 

•  A  stone  is  fourteen  pounds.  \  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  vi.  page  84. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  105 

ground  should  be  well  ploughed  and  harrowed  before  the  seed 
is  put  in,  and  afterwards  harrowed  again  to  cover  it. 

Oats  require  a  soil  and  a  climate  sufficiently  moist.  Dry, 
gravelly,  or  sandy  soils  are  the  most  unfit  for  this  grain — and 
particularly  in  those  localities  where  drought  is  apt  to  prevail 
during  the  growth  of  the  crop. 

Many  farmers  seem  to  act  under  the  impression,  that  oats, 
being  a  hardy  crop,  will  grow  well  enough  without  having 
much  done  to  prepare  the  ground  for  their  reception.  The 
consequence  is,  that  they  obtain  only  small  and  unprofitable 
crops,  when,  with  a  trifle  more  of  expense,  they  might  obtain 
crops  of  a  superior  order.  If  oats  are  to  be  cultivated  on  stiff" 
grass  ground,  the  sward  should  be  turned  over,  and  otherwise 
managed  in  all  respects  precisely  as  if  corn  were  to  be  planted. 

The  quantity  of  seed  usually  sown,  varies  with  the  species, 
the  richness  of  the  soil,  the  equality  of  the  depth  at  which  the 
seed  is  placed,  and  other  circumstances.  From  one  and  a  half 
to  three  bushels  are  sown — generally  from  two  to  two  and  a 
half.  Two  bushels  will  certainly  be  sufficient  for  one  acre,  if 
the  sowing  is  performed  at  the  right  season,  and  the  ground 
be  in  good  heart  and  properly  prepared.  The  greatest  care 
should  be  observed  in  the  selection  of  the  seed:  the  heaviest 
is  estimated  the  best. 

Gypsum  is  a  suitable  manure  for  this  crop.  ''It  should  be 
applied,"  says  the  Farmer's  Assistant,  "after  the  crop  is  har- 
rowed in:  as  soon  as  it  is  harvested,  this  manure  will  produce 
a  growth  of  white-clover,  which  will  be  of  considerable  value 
for  fall-feeding." 

In  harvesting  oats,  it  is  recommended  to  mow  instead  of 
reaping  them,  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  turn  yellow.  If  then 
well  dryed,  the  straw  is  more  esteemed  for  provender  than 
that  of  wheat,  barley,  and  rye,  and  is  preferred  by  some  ani- 
mals to  the  best  meadow-hay. 

The  produce,  and  consequently  the  profit  of  oats,  varies 
greatly  with  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  mode  of  manage- 
ment. Thirty  bushels  are  considered  the  average  in  England; 
and  in  Scotland,  where  the  culture  of  the  oat  is  more  attended 
to  than  in  any  other  part  of  Europe,  sixty  bushels  are  held  to 
be  a  good  crop — twenty-five  an  indifferent  or  bad  one. 

Instances  are  on  record,  well  authenticated,  of  very  large 
crops  being  raised  in  the  United  States,  in  some  cases  exceed- 
ing one  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre.  But  these  are  rare  oc- 
currences; crops  of  from  fifty  to  eighty  bushels  are  frequently 
raised;  but  the  average  growth  throughout  the  country  will  not 
probably  vary  far  from  forty  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Oats  vary  in  weight  from  thirty-five  to  forty-five  pounds 


106  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS, 

the  bushel.  The  produce  in  flour  is  generally  regarded  as  in 
the  proportion  of  eight  to  fourteen.  That  is,  fourteen  pounds 
of  grain,  (thirty-five  pounds  to  the  bushel,)  give  eight  pounds 
of  meal,  though  the  proportional  quantity  of  meal  increases  as 
the  oats  are  heavier. 

The  oat  is  used  almost  exclusively  in  this  country  as  food 
for  animals,  especially  the  horse.  In  a  few  places  in  New 
England,  and  perhaps  in  other  sections,  after  being  kiln  dried, 
hulled  very  clean,  ground  and  bolted,  it  makes  a  fine  flour, 
which,  mixed  in  equal  proportions  with  wheat  flour,  will  make 
a  bread  so  white  and  fine,  that  even  the  best  judges  cannot  dis- 
tinguish it  from  bread  made  entire  from  the  best  of  wheat 
flour.* 

A  large  portion  of  the  oat  meal,  sold  in  the  shops  by  drug- 
gists, is  manufactured  and  prepared  in  this  country;  it  is  equal 
in  all  respects  to  the  imported;  and  no  necessity  whatever 
exists,  for  sending  thousands  of  dollars  annually  out  of  the 
country,  as  has  heretofore  been  the  case,  for  articles  which 
we  can  raise  at  home. 

Oats  are  subject  to  considerable  hazard  of  injury  by  the 
shaking  of  winds,  as  the  grain  approaches  to  its  ripened  state. 
In  the  early  stages  of  its  growth,  it  is  subject  to  the  attacks  of 
several  enemies,  of  which  the  principal  is  the  wire-worm, 
which  is  the  larvae  of  a  very  small  beetle — Elater  segetis; 
and  by  the  larvae  of  several  other  insects,  comprehended  by 
farmers  under  the  general  name  of  grub. 

The  diseases  of  the  oat  are  not  numerous.  Sometimes  it  is 
found  attacked  by  the  smut.  An  effectual  remedy  is  said  to 
be  to  work  the  seed  thoroughly  in  strong  lime-water,  letting 
it  remain  in  soak  during  the  night  previous  to  sowing:  a 
sprinkle  of  plaster  on  the  seed,  would  probably  prove  bene- 
ficial. 

5.    MILLET. 

Under  the  term  millet,  says  Professor  Low,  are  compre- 
hended certain  plants  of  different  genera,  which  are  cultivated 
for  their  seed.  1.  Common  millet.  2.  Italian  letaria.  3. 
German  setaijia.  4.  Indian  millet.  In  Latin  it  is  called 
^'milliujVI,"  as  if  one  stalk  bore  a  thousand  seeds.  This 
plant  is  a  native  of  India;  whence  its  cultivation  has  gradually 
spread  over  northern  Europe.  Its  stalks  and  leaves  resemble 
those  of  Indian  corn,  though  much  smaller.  Its  cultivation  in 
England,  except  as  a  garden  plant,  was  unknown  until  after  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century. 

*  See  Appendix,  E. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  107 

In  Russia,  Germany,  Hungary,  Ital)',  and  other  parts  of 
Europe,  common  millet  is  used  in  the  manner  of  rice,  and  fur- 
nishes a  nourishing  and  grateful  food,  the  seed  being  previous- 
ly divested  of  their  outer  covering.  It  is  rarely  made  into 
bread. 

The  Indian  millet  furnishes  bread  to  the  Arabians  and  other 
people  of  the  east.  The  Arabs  call  the  flour  dourra;  and  it  is 
truly  the  bread  corn  of  Africa,  being  grown  over  all  the  parts 
of  that  vast  continent.  It  was  long  ago  introduced  into  Spain, 
it  may  be  supposed  by  the  Moors,  if  not  at  an  earlier  period 
still  by  the  Carthagenians.  It  has  been  introduced  also  into 
the  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  and  some  parts  of  South  Ame- 
rica, where  it  is  known  under  the  name  of  Guinea  corn. 

Millet  may  be  sown  in  the  middle  states  from  the  15th 
of  May,  until  the  20th  of  July,  and  will  generally  produce  a 
heavy  crop  of  hay  in  six  weeks,  yielding  at  the  rate  of  from 
two  to  four  tons  to  the  acre.  If  designed  for  hay  alone,  it 
should  be  cut  as  soon  as  the  head  is  formed.  It  cures  easily 
in  cocks,  keeps  well,  is  very  nutritious,  and  is  eaten  with 
avidity  by  horses  and  cattle. 

If  the  object  is  to  obtain  the  seed,  which  makes  an  excellent 
food  for  fattening  swine,  poultry,  &c.,  let  it  remain  a  few  days 
longer  until  the  head  turns  yellow.  Then  cut,  thresh  out  the 
seed  when  dried,  and  put  away  the  hay.  When  the  seed  is 
permitted  to  ripen,  the  hay,  of  course,  is  harsher,  but  it  is  still 
a  highly  nutritious  provender  for  stock  of  all  kinds. 

The  soil  for  millet  should  be  warm,  light  or  sandy,  rich,  and 
well  pulverized  to  a  good  depth.  If  for  hay  only,  three  pecks 
to  a  bushel  of  the  seed  to  the  acre  is  sufficient;  but  if  for  both 
grain  and  hay,  four  pecks  will  answer:  it  should  be  sown  thin 
and  not  deeply  covered.  <'When  cultivated  in  drills,  three 
feet  apart,  and  six  inches  in  the  rows,  it  has  produced  as  heavy 
crops  per  acre  as  Indian  corn,  but  owing  to  the  difficulty  of 
saving  the  crop,  on  account  of  birds,  its  ripeningunequally,  and 
its  shelling  out,  it  is  generally  sown  broad-cast."  The  plant,  as 
well  as  its  growth,  is  greatly  accelerated  by  stirring  the  soil, 
after  which  it  grows  astonishingly  fast  and  smothers  all  weeds.^ 


6.    MAIZE,  OR  INDIAN  CORN— Z£A  MAIS. 

The  maize  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  noble  looking  of  the 
cereal  grasses,  but  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable,  second  to 
wheat  only;  and   indeed   in    many   places,  taking   even   the 

*  Professor  Von  Thaer. 


108  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

precedence  of  wheat  itself.*  Some  late  writers  are  of  opinion, 
tiiat  the  native  country  of  the  Indian  corn  is  still  undetermined. 

That  it  is  a  native  of  this  country,  and  has  been  extensively 
cultivated  in  North  and  South  America,  from  time  immemo- 
rial, we  can  entertain  no  doubt.  This  subject  has  been  fully 
and  ably  discussed,  in  an  "Essay  on  Indian  Corn,"t  in  which 
it  is  shewn  most  satisfactorily,  that  it  is  a  native  of  America. 

Indian  corn  has  a  wide  range  of  temperature.  In  America 
it  flourishes  from  about  the  40°  of  southern  to  beyond  the  45° 
of  northern  latitude.  It  is  extensively  produced  in  Africa, 
Asia,  and  the  south  of  Europe.  On  all  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean — Spain,  Italy,  and  the  countries  of  the  Levant 
— it  supplies  the  food  in  most  common  use.  The  Edinburg 
Quarterly  Journal,  says,  that  of  all  the  cerealia,  indeed,  it  is 
that  which,  next  to  the  rice,  supplies  food  to  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  the  human  race — and  it  may  be  held  to  be  the  most 
valuable  gift  of  the  new  world  to  the  old. 

Corn,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  is  used  for  bread  by  one- 
half  if  not  by  two-thirds  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States. 
In  the  south  the  climate  is  unfavourable  to  the  preservation  of 
wheat  and  flour;  hence  corn  is  of  necessity  a  principal  article 
of  subsistence  with  them;  while  in  New  England,  mixed  with 
rye,  it  is  preferred  to  any  thing  else  for  bread.  J 

The  cultivation  of  corn  must  then  be  an  object  of  primary 
importance  with  every  farmer;  and  the  best  methods  which 
experience  or  theory  suggest  to  increase  the  quantity  and  value 
of  the  crop,  should  be  attended  to  by  every  one  engaged  in 
its  production. 

Wheat  does  not  grow  on  the  plains  under  the  equator;  it 
flourishes  only  in  regions  that  are  temperate;  while  corn  de- 
lights in  the  brightest  summer  sun,  and  never  suffers  from  the 
most  intense  heat,  if  its  roots  can  only  be  supplied  with  mois- 
ture. It  requires  a  good  soil — one  is  rarely  if  ever  found  too 
rich,  either  naturally  or  artificially.  It  bears  manure  better 
than  any  vegetable  known  among  us — requires  deep  plough- 
ing, and  sends  out  its  roots  to  a  very  great  distance  and  depth. 

For  this  reason,  in  a  rotation  of  crops,  corn  generally  forms 
the  first  of  the  series,  being,  like  some  of  the  cultivated  roots, 
a  gross  feeder,  and  unlike  some  of  the  other  grains,  the  magni- 
tude and  plumpness  of  the  ear,  usually  correspond  with  the 

*  It  is  generally  ranked  as  the  third  grain  in  point  of  utilitj'^,  by  European 
writers,  they  placing  it  before  rice  and  wheat;  but  in  the  United  States  it  takes 
the  precedence  of  all  other  grains. — Essay  on  Indian  Corn  by  Pkter  A.  Browne, 
Esq. 

t  An  Essay  on  Indian  Corn,  delivered  by  Peter  A.  Browne,  Esq^,  LL.  D., 
before  the  Cabinet  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania, 

t  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  vi.  page  161. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  109 

size  and  vigour  of  the  plants  produced.  Corn  land  must  be 
made  mellow,  and  if  free  from  weeds  and  grass,  so  much  the 
better  for  both  the  corn  and  the  cultivator. 

Soil.  Corn  requires  a  rich,  loose  and  friable  soil;  and  un- 
like those  distinguished  for  wheat.  Yet  corn  and  wheat  not 
unfrequently  grow  well  on  the  same  ground;  but  there  are 
soils  which  are  excellent  for  wheat  on  which  corn  cannot  be 
grown  to  advantage.  On  stiff  clayey  soils,  it  is  never  wise  or 
safe  to  undertake  the  culture  of  corn. 

In  general,  the  best  soils  for  corn  are  such  as  contain  in 
their  composition  a  large  proportion  of  sand.  A  light  sandy 
loam  is  highly  esteemed.  It  has  been  said  that  corn  requires 
a  rich  soil — of  course  it  should  receive  plentiful  supplies  of 
manure.  It  may  be  planted  after  almost  any  other  crop. 
Wheat  stubble,  or  an  oat  or  rye  stubble,  is  a  good  preparation 
for  corn;  but  there  is  no  preparation  more  suitable  for  it  than 
a  greensward;  and  if  the  soil  has  become  old  and  stiff,  that 
circumstance,  of  itself,  is  no  serious  objection  to  it.* 

Pi'epciration.  As  the  practice  of  planting  corn  on  green- 
sward, has  become  very  general,  and  is  considered  as  a  highly 
important  improvement  in  husbandry,  a  few  remarks,  in  re- 
ference to  the  manner  or  mode  of  preparing  the  ground  for  the 
crop,  adopted  by  many  of  our  most  intelligent  and  successful 
farmers,  may  not  be  deemed  out  of  place. 

The  author  of  "Letters  from  a  Father,"  who  ranks  among 
the  first  farmers  of  the  Union  for  his  practical  knowledge  of 
agriculture,  has  tried  this  method  for  years  past  with  manifest 
benefit.  He  says,  "a  few  days  before  the  planting  season  ar- 
rives, the  greensward,  having  had  a  plentiful  supply  of  dung 
spread  upon  it,  should  be  turned  over,  and  the  work  perform- 
ed in  a  masterly  manner. t  I  say  masterly  manner,  meaning 
to  use  the  phrase  emphatically.  What  I  mean  is,  that  the 
work  should  be  performed  in  a  very  careful  and  skilful 
manner. 

"Every  particle  of  the  sod  should  be  broken  up  and  turned 
over  in  furrows,  dropping  either  flat  down,  or  inclining  a  little 
one  upon  another.:}:     Frequently,  while  the  plough  is  perform- 

*  Letters  from  a  Father  living  in  the  state  of  New  York,  to  his  son  in 
Western  Pennsylvania.     Vol.  vi.  Genesee  Farmer. 

t  We  would  recommend  in  addition  to  a  liberal  application  of  iinfermented 
manure,  a  light  covering  of  lime  to  promote  the  decomposition  of  the  tap  and 
lateral  roots  of  the  grass.  The  lime,  if  but  five  bushels,  should  be  applied  be- 
fore the  manure;  the  result  will,  in  almost  every  instance,  be  highly  advan- 
tageous. Some  cultivators  preter  manuring  the  sward  in  the  fall,  ploughing 
it  in,  and  after  harrowing,  let  it  remain  until  spring. 

t  We  cannot  agree  with  the  writer  in  the  propriety  of  the  furrows  "inclin- 
ing a  little  one  upon  another."     There  is  no  danger  in  laying  the  furrow  too 
flat.    It  is  certainly  the  best  way.    See  article  Ploughing. 
10 


1 10  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

ing  this  work,  it  will  be  profitable  to  have  a  hand  follow, 
whose  business  it  should  be  to  rectify  places  in  which  the  work 
is  imperfectly  performed.  Such  should  be  the  tillage  of  green- 
sward when  corn  is  to  be  planted  upon  it. 

"But  why  speak  of  such  tillage  as  though  it  were  applicable 
to  corn  ground  alone?  In  no  other  manner  should  greensward 
ever  be  broken  up,  whatever  may  be  the  immediate  use  for 
which  it  is  intended.  If  farmers,  when  they  commence  their 
summer  fallows,  would  plough  in  the  manner  now  suggested, 
instead  of  cutting  and  covering  and  leaving  the  clods  in  all 
positions,  as  many  of  them  do,  their  gains  would  be  very 
great." 

After  the  plough  comes  the  roller.  It  is  by  no  means  a 
matter  of  indifference  whether  the  ground  be  or  be  not  rolled. 
The  roller  is  of  great  use  in  settling  down  the  turf,  and  thus 
])lacing  it  in  a  situation  the  more  readily  to  rot,  and  administer 
nutriment  to  the  crop.  The  roller  as  well  as  the  harrow, 
.should  be  drawn  only  in  the  direction  of  the  furrows,  not 
across  them.  But  if  the  use  of  the  roller  is  forbidden  by  the 
presence  of  too  many  stumps  or  stones,  then  the  tillage  must 
be  completed  as  well  as  it  can  be  by  the  harrow  only.  But  it 
must  be  remembered  that  rolling  in  no  case  supersedes  the  use 
of  the  harrow. 

The  last  implement  employed  in  the  tillage  of  the  ground, 
preparatory  to  planting,  is  ihe  ha ?'row.  It  should  not  be  used 
fiparingly,  but  carried  over  the  ground  until  the  entire  face  or 
.surface  of  the  inverted  sward  is  completely  broken  up  and 
thoroughly  pulverized.  The  full  benefit  of  the  harrow  in  such 
cases,  is  rarely  realised,  as  it  is  seldom  used  as  much  as  it 
should  be.  After  the  sward  has  been  thus  prepared,  it  should 
in  no  case  whatever  be  subsequently  operated  on,  or  stirred 
up  so  deeply  as  to  disturb  the  sod.  In  subsequent  tillage,  the 
cultivator  may  be  used  to  great  advantage — the  operations  of 
whatever  kind  should  be  superficial.* 

Manure.  "Unfermented  stable  and  yard  manure  is  de- 
cidedly preferable  if  spread  broadcast,  as  it  always  should  be, 
and  thoroughly  buried  with  the  plough.  It  keeps  the  soil  open, 
and  permeable  to  heat,  air  and  moisture,  the  agents  of  nutri- 
tion; it  imparts  warmth  to  the  soil  while  undergoing  the  pro- 
cess of  fermentation,  and  affords  the  best  food  for  the  crop."t 

Edward  Tatxall,  of  Brandy  wine,  Delaware,  has  furnished 
the  public  with  some  interesting  statements  relative  to  his 
method  of  growing  corn.  He  says,  speaking  of  the  manure, 
**it  is  best  to  combine  the  lime  and  manure  by  applying  both 

*  Cultivator,  vol.  iii.  p.  2L  t  Ibid. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  m 

to  the  same  crop.  That  is,  in  preparing  for  a  crop  of  corn,  I 
should  put  on  about  twenty-five  ox-cart  loads  of  barn-yard 
manure  to  the  acre,  spread  it  evenly,  and  plough  late  in  the 
fall,  harrowing  it  well  before  winter  sets  in. 

"In  the  spring  I  spread  on  sixty  bushels  of  lime  to  the  acre, 
again  harrowing  until  the  ground  is  in  good  order  for  plant- 
ing." It  is  then  struck  out  lightly,  in  which  operation,  as  well 
as  in  the  after  culture,  the  greatest  care  is  taken  not  to  disturb 
either  the  sward  or  the  manure. 

By  this  process  the  land  is  left  in  good  order  for  the  follow- 
ing crop;  and  we  learn  from  Mr.  Tatnall,  that  he  has  raised 
from  sixty  to  seventy  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  the  first  year, 
and  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  bushels  of  wheat  following  the 
corn  crop;  and  that,  too,  from  land  that  would  not  previously 
produce  oats  worth  cutting.  Several  farmers  of  our  acquaint- 
ance have  adopted  Mr.  T.'s  plan,  successfully,  so  far  as  the 
corn  is  concerned — and  no  doubt  is  entertained  of  the  value  of 
subsequent  crops. 

Selection  of  seed.  The  Dutton  corn,  so  called,  is  the 
earliest  for  field  culture  that  we  are  acquainted  with,  and  most 
suitable  for  the  middle  states.  It  may  be  planted  in  this  lati- 
tude, 42°,  the  latter  part  of  May,  and  even  as  late  as  the  first  of 
June,  and  cut  off  the  first  week  in  September  fully  ripe.  It  is 
a  hard  corn,  deeply  yellow,  grains  set  very  close,  generally 
twelve  rows,  sometimes  more,  but  never  eight.  It  is  remark- 
ably heavy,  and  is  considered  more  sweet  and  nutritious  than 
the  ordinary  kinds  of  corn  usually  raised  in  this  country. 
The  stalk  is  small,  it  shades  the  ground  less  than  other  kinds, 
and  of  course  admits  of  being  planted  much  nearer  together. 
Many  of  our  farmers,  however,  still  prefer  the  old  varieties  of 
gourd  seed. 

The  Canada  or  Northern  corn  is  cultivated  extensively  in 
some  parts;  while  in  the  southern  and  south-western  states  the 
Baden  corn  is  in  high  repute,  and  has  taken  the  precedence  of 
almost  every  other  kind.  It  is  very  prolific,  stalk  large  and 
vigorous,  and  requiring  a  long  season  to  come  to  maturity.  It 
appears  to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  south;  and  although  it 
has  been  raised  in  the  middle  and  northern  states,  and  in  many 
localities  would  be  highly  desirable  on  account  of  its  great 
yield,  and  the  vast  amount  of  fodder  it  affords,  yet  our  liability 
to  early  and  severe  frosts  forbid  its  general  cultivation. 

Preparation  of  the  seed.  The  following  is  Judge  Buel's  practice  in  prepar- 
ing the  seed  for  planting:  "We  turn  upon  the  seed,  the  evening  before  planting, 
water  nearly  in  a  boiling  state.  This  thoroughly  saturates  the  seed,  induces 
an  incipient  germination,  and  causes  the  corn  to  sprout  quick.  The  next 
morning  we  take  half  a  pint  of  tar,  for  half  a  bushel  of  seed,  put  it  into  an  iroa 
vessel  with  water,  and  heat  it  until  the  tar  is  dissolved  and  the  liquid  becomes 


112  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

lar  water.    It  is  then  turned  upon  the  seed  and  well  stirred.    It  adheres  to  the 
grain  and  gives  it'a  thin  transparent  coating. 

The  tar  serv^es  a  double  purpose — it  prevents  an  excess  of  moisture  entering 
and  rotting  the  seed  if  the  weather  or  soil  are  cold  or  wet;  and  it  preserves  it 
from  the  depredations  of  birds,  (and  some  insects.)  &c.,  which  prey  upon  it. 
After  the  seed  is  taken  from  the  steep,  where  we  never  leave  it  more  than  fif- 
teen hours,  as  much  ground  gypsum  is  mixed  with  it  as  will  adhere  to  the 
kernels.  The  gypsnm  prevents  the  kernels  adhering  ro  each  other,  and 
favours  the  after  growth  of  the  crop."  Ashes  or  lime  may  be  substituted  for 
gypsum.  The  seed  should  be  planted  while  it  is  moist,  and  immediately 
covered.     It  should  not  be  long  exposed  to  the  sun. 

Distance  inplaiiting.  The  varieties  of  seed  and  the  rich- 
ness of  the  soil  must  determine  the  distance  at  which  the  corn 
should  be  planted.  If  the  distances  are  too  great,  there  is  a 
needless  waste  in  the  use  of  land;  if  too  small,  the  corn  will  be 
choked  and  rendered  less  productive.  When  it  is  considered 
that  good  varieties  and  proper  distances  are  attended  with  no 
additional  expense  or  labour,  its  importance  must  be  manifest. 
The  northern  varieties  of  corn  are  much  better  adapted  to  the 
culture  of  the  middle  states  than  the  southern  varieties  already 
referred  to,  though  the  latter  are  very  productive. 

The  Dutton,  and  other  northern  varieties,  being  much 
smaller  in  the  stalk,  require  less  room  than  the  southern,  and, 
consequently,  a  much  larger  number  of  hills  or  rows  may  be 
planted  on  an  acre;  and  in  the  saine  proportion  is  the  crop  in- 
creased. The  most  approved  method  now  adopted  of  planting 
corn,  is  in  rows  or  drills,  generally  running  north  and  south; 
the  respective  distances  between  the  drills,  and  the  seeds  de- 
posited in  the  drills,  must  vary  according  to  circumstances. 

It  has  been  stated,  and  that  correctly,  that  nearly  all  the 
large  premium  crops  of  corn,  which  have  been  noted  in  the 
annals  of  agriculture,  w-ere  procured  by  planting  the  corn  in 
drills,  either  single,  double,  or  treble.  A  difference,  however, 
exists  relative  to  planting  it  in  ridges,  or  on  a  flat  surface;  this 
must,  in  a  great  measure,  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil; 
as  a  loamy  soil,  or  one  suitable  for  corn,  ought  in  this  climate 
to  be  cultivated  in  a  flat  way,  in  order  that  it  may  the  better 
retain  moisture.* 

Quantity  of  seed  and  covering.  "From  using  too  little  seed, 
and  a  recklessness  in  covering  it,  many  corn  fields  are  deficient 
one  half  of  what  ought  to  grow  upon  them."  From  six  to  eight 
kernels  are  to  be  dropped  in  a  hill,  and  very  carefully  covered 
with  finely  pulverized  mould.  If  any  hard  clod  or  substance 
is  placed  on  the  hill,  the  plants  will  probably  be  retarded  in 
their  growth.  Care  must  be  taken  that  the  seed  be  not  buried 
too  deep,  as  it  may  not  germinate — if  too  shallow,  it  may  suffer 
for  the  lack  of  moisture.    The  extra  expense  for  additional  seed 

*  Complete  Farmer,  p.  34. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  1X3 

and  labour  is  nothing,  compared  to  the  increase  of  the  crop. 
Two  inches  is  a  sufficient  covering,  if  the  earth  is  so  compressed 
as  to  retain  its  moisture. 

The  after  culture.  As  to  the  after  culture  of  the  corn  crop, 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  prescribe  any  thing  like  a  rule  of  uni- 
versal application.  The  great  object  is  to  extirpate  weeds,  and 
to  keep  the  surface  mellow  and  open,  that  the  heat,  air,  and 
moisture  may  exert  the  better  their  kind  influences  upon  the 
vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  and  converting  it  into  nutriment 
for  the  crop.  The  cultivator  may  be  advantageously  passed 
between  the  rows  of  corn  three  or  four  times,  though  ordina- 
rily but  two  dressings  are  given  to  the  crop.  This  practice  is 
to  be  governed  altogether  by  the  state  of  the  soil  and  season.* 

The  plants  are  thinned  at  the  first  dressing,  which  is  usually 
performed  with  the  hand-hoe — the  surface  pulverized,  and  the 
plants  reduced  to  from  three  to  four  in  a  hill.  It  is  well  to 
gather,  at  this  operatijon,  a  little  fresh  earth  into  and  around  the 
hill.  A  somewhat  similar  process  is  observed  by  many  in  the 
second  dressing.  The  earthing  must  not  exceed  one  inch  and 
a  half,  that  the  hill  be  broad  and  flat,  and  that  the  earth  for  this 
purpose  be  not  taken  from  one  place,  but  gathered  from  the 
surface  between  the  rows,  where  it  has  been  loosened  by  the 
cultivator. 

Harvesting.  The  crop  should  be  cut  up  at  the  ground  as  soon  as  the  grain 
is  glazed,  or  as  soon  as  it  will  do  to  top,  and,  without  being  laid  on  the  ground, 
set  immediately  in  stooks.  There  are  four  substantial  reasons  for  adopting 
this  mode  of  harvesting.  It  secures  the  crop  from  the  destructive  effects  ol 
frosi;  it  quadruples  the  value  of  the  fodder;  it  clears  the  ground  early  for  a  tail 
crop,  and  it  saves  labour  in  harvesting;  and,  we  may  add  a  fifth,  it  makes  a 
better  crop  of  grain,  imder  any  contingency,  than  when  it  is  topped  in  the  old 
way.  We  are  confident  of  this  last  fact.  The  grain  continues  to  profit  by  the 
elaborated  sap  in  the  cut  stalks,  while  it  does  not  profit  by  the  uneiaborated 
sap,  below  the  ear,  in  the  topped  corn. 

Husking  and  cribbing.  The  ears  should  be  gathered  from  the  stalks,  and 
the  latter  stacked,  as  soon  as  they  have  become  siifiiciently  dry  and  cured,  as 
unnecessary  exposure  to  the  weather  is  prejudicial  to  both  the  grain  and  the 
forage.  From  two  to  three  weeks  generally  suffices  to  effect  these  objects. 
The  corn  may  be  picked  off  and  carried  to  the  barn,  and  it  should  be  husked 
within  twenty-four  or  thirty-six  hours  thereafter,  and  before  the  least  heat  is 
perceptible  in  the  pile,  and  the  stalks  bound  and  placed  in  small  stacks,  so  as 
to  expose  all  the  butts,  which  have  become  saturated  with  moisture  by  standing 
on  the  ground,  to  the  drying  influence  of  the  sun  and  winds— and  the  stacks 
topped,  or  covered  with  straw,  so  as  to  shed  rain.  After  a  fortnight  or  so,  they 
may  be  carried,  in  a  dry  state,  to  the  barn.  When  picking  the  corn  from  the 
stalks,  the  best  seed  ears  should  be  selected,  and  immediately  braided,  and  hung 
in  an' airy  loft.  The  corn  should  be  exposed,  after  being  husked,  upon  the 
barn  floor,  to  the  drying  influence  of  the  winds,  and  it  may  require  to  be  turned 
over  and  stirred,  till  the  cob  is  thoroughly  dried.  If  this  is  wet,  when  cribbed, 
fermentation  may  ensue,  or  a  frost  may  follow,  sufficient  to  congeal  the  mois- 
ture in  the  cob,  either  of  which  will  impair  the  quality  of  the  grain,  and  de- 
stroy its  germinating  principle. 

lii  sorting  the  corn  we  make  three  parcels,  viz.  sound  grain  for  the  crib,  pig 

.*  E.  P.  Roberts.    J.  Buel. 
10* 


1X4  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

corn,  embracing  the  ripened  but  defective  ears,  and  the  truly  soft  and  smutty 
ears,  which  are  not  husked,  but  thrown  by  for  immediate  use.  The  silk  and 
husks  are  carefully  separated  from  the  two  first  parcels,  as  they  imbibe  mois- 
ture, induce  mouldiness,  and  afford  building  materials  for  mice.  We  also 
separate  the  grainless  tips  and  stems  of  that  which  we  place  in  cribs,  for  the 
like  reasons,  and  to  preserve  the  grain  in  a  sound  bright  condition. 

The  forage  from  the  corn  crop,  when  saved  in  the  manner  we  have  directed, 
is  an  excellent  fodder  for  neat  cattle,  if  cut  for  feeding  out.  We  have  used  it 
in  this  way,  exclusive  of  hay,  for  two  years,  and  find  it  answers  all  the  purposes 
of  hay.  Our  practice  is  to  cut  a  quantity,  to  mix  with  it  bran,  or  roots,  cut  up, 
when  we  have  them,  and  to  sprinkle  the  mass  with  brine,  and  to  feed  in  man- 
gers. 

The  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  vi.,  contains  an  article  of  great 
interest  to  corn  growers,  presenting,  in  a  condensed  form,  a 
history  of  the  various  methods  adopted  by  farmers  in  different 
sections  of  the  United  States  to  produce  those  large  crops,  which 
go  so  far  to  show  that  the  capabilities  of  our  soil,  and  the  most 
beneficial  and  advantageous  course  of  treatment,  are  but  imper- 
fectly understood. 

"Too  many  concurring  favourable  circumstances  are,  perhaps, 
required  to  often  realize  the  highest  hopes  of  corn,  on  record. 
If  the  best  and  most  thorough  modes  of  preparation  and  culture 
were  adopted,  yields  of  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  bushels 
might,  in  favourable  seasons,  be  relied  on  with  certainty.'* 
Indeed  it  is  not  uncommon,  in  many  parts  of  our  own  state, 
(Pennsylvania,)  to  witness  a  yield  of  from  seventy-five  and 
eighty,  to  a  hundred  bushels  of  corn  upon  an  acre,  without 
any  extraordinar)^  application  of  manure,  or  unusual  attentioa 
to  the  culture — certainly  not  more  than  all  crops  should  re- 
ceive. These  results  were,  of  course,  in  seasons  favourable  to 
the  growth  of  corn.  E.  P******e,  of  Delaware  county,  has 
averaged  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  bushels  per  acre,  for 
several  years  in  succession;  and  he  informed  the  writer  of  this, 
that  in  the  year  183S,  a  season  of  drought,  his  corn  turned  out 
ninety-sev'en  bushels  per  acre — this  he  attributed  mainly  to 
the  fact  of  his  keeping  the  earth  well  stirred  during  the  preva- 
lence of  the  drought. 

Mr.  Gaylord,  in  the  article  referred  to  above,  in  which  he  proceeds  to  show 
the  method  adopted  to  produce  lar^e  crops,  says:  The  first  I  shall  give,  is  from 
a  report  of  a  crop  by  Mr.  Bggbee,  near  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  He  says, 
"Last  .spring  I  ploughed  up  a  piece  of  green.<Avard,  measuring  five  acres.  After 
ploughing,  thirty  loads  of  manure  to  the  acre  were  spread  over  it,  and  tho- 
roughly mixed  with  the  earth  by  the  harroW,  without  disturbing  or  breaking 
the  sward.  On  the  30th  of  May  I  planted  my  corh.  A  small  quantity  of  ashes, 
lime  and  plaster,  mixed  together  and  prepared  for  the  purpose,  was  put  into 
the  hill  at  the  time  of  planting.  Of  this  mixture  there  were  two  and  a  half 
bushels  of  lime,  the  same  of  plaster,  and  twentj'-five  bushels  of  ashes  for  the 
whole  five  acres."  The  cofn  was  hoed  twice,  and  from  one  acre,  the  crop 
being  carefully  gathered  and  measured,  it  was  found  to  be  one  hundred  and 
eight  bushels  of  good  clean  merchantable  corn.  As  this  acre  was  no  more  than 
a  fair  average,  the  quantity  produced  by  the  five  acres  was  not  less  than  five 
hundred  and  fortv  bushels.     How  much  in  this  case  is  to  be  attributed  to  the 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  U5 

mixture  applied  to  the  hill  is  of  course  unknown,  but  the  theory  of  the  applica- 
tion is  good,  and  deserves  a  repetition. 

We  give  another  extract  from  the  Ploughboy,  of  December,  1820.  "There 
was  raised  on  the  farm  of  R.  H.  Rose,  at  Silver  Lake,  Pennsylvania,  the  pre- 
sent year,  Indian  corn  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  bushels  per 
acre.  It  was  the  short  white  eight  rowed  corn,  planted  in  rows  three  feet 
apart — the  stalks  nine  inches  from  each  other  in  the  rows.  Rather  before  the 
usual  time  of  topping,  the  stalks  of  every  other  rov/  were  cut  ofTjust  above  the 
highest  ear.  The  corn  was  planted  on  the  third  day  of  June,  and  gathered  on 
the  sixteenth  day  of  September."  A  writer  in  the  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  i.  No. 
20,  seems  to  have  mistaken  the  object  of  thus  cutting  every  other  row.  He 
says,  "In  order  to  take  advantage  of  this  operation,  (of  topping,)  the  stalks 
should  be  cut  as  soon  as  they  are  up,  and  before  the  blossoms  appear,  becaut^e 
after  the  blossoms  have  shed  their  pollen,  then  their  functions  are  performed, 
and  all  the  stalks  might  be  taken  off  as  well  as  half."  The  object  of  topping 
every  other  row  was  undoubtedly  to  give  the  plants  more  benefit  from  the  sun's 
heat;  but  we  doubt  whether  in  this,  or  any  other  method  of  topping,  the  loss  is 
not  greater  than  the  gain.  The  sap  must  be  elaborated  in  the  leaves,  or  it  does 
not  become  fit  food  for  plants;  of  course  topping  must  be  prejudicial. 

In  1831,  Mr.  Butler,  of  Chenango  county  in  this  state,  reported  for  the  New 
England  Farmer  a  crop  of  corn  raised  by  him  that  year,  and  the  method  of 
cultivation.  The  ground  was  a  stiff  loam.  The  land  ploughed  but  once,  yet 
thoroughly  and  completely  done.  Twenty-five  cart  loads  of  sheep  manure  was 
then  put  on  an  acre,  and  spread  evenly  over  the  surface.  It  was  then  rolled 
and  harrowed  with  a  light  double  harrow  containing  forty  teeth,  until  it  was 
a  complete  garden  mould.  The  land  was  planted  on  the  2-2nd  and  23d  of  May, 
on  an  even  surface,  with  the  early,  small  white  flint  corn,  steeped  in  a  solution 
of  copperas  and  saltpetre,  and  then  tarred  and  rolled  in  plaster,  and  planted 
three  and  a  half  feet  from  centre  to  centre  of  the  middle  of  the  drills.  The 
plants  stood  singly  from  twelve  to  thirteen  inches  on  the  drills.  The  corn  was 
kept  clean,  plastered  well  on  the  plant,  topped  at  the  usual  time,  was  ripe  on 
the  15th  of  September,  and  was  harvested  the  middle  of  October,  and  found  to 
yield  "at  least  one  hundred  and  thirty  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  sixty  pounds  to 
the  bushel,  or  one  hundred  and  forty  bushels,  at  fifty-six  pounds  per  bushel,  to 
the  acre. 

But  the  greatest  crop  of  corn,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  ever  raised  in  this 
country,  was  that  reported  by  the  Messrs.  Pratts  of  Madison  county,  and 
which  was  well  authenticated  in  every  respect,  amounted  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy  bushels  per  acre.  Their  mode  of  preparation  for  planting  does  not 
appear  to  be  superior  to  those  mentioned  above,  but  they  increased  their  crop 
by  adopting  a  system  of  planting  which  gave  a  greater  number  of  stalks,  and 
of  course  ears. 

It  is  admitted  that  these  are  extraordinary  cases  of  productiveness;  but  the 
ordinary  crops  of  Mr.  Stimson  of  Galway,  and  Judge  Buel  of  Albany,  averag- 
ing as  they  do  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  bushels  per  acre,  clearly  demon- 
strate what  may  be  accomplished  by  sound  theory  and  corresponding  practice. 
We  think  that  farmers  in  general  are  not  sufiiciently  aware  how  much  the 
amount  of  the  crop  depends  on  the  method  of  planting.  This  is  an  operation 
which  more  than  most  others  requires  attention  and  system;  for  let  the  soil  be 
ever  so  rich  and  productive,  if  there  is  not  half  the  seed  put  on  which  the  land 
can  support,  or  if.  it  is  not  properly  distributed,  there  will  of  course  be  a  defi- 
ciency in  the  crop.  To  show  how  much  greater  the  number  of  stalks  will  be 
in  one  method  than  in  another,  we  have  prepared  an  estimate  collected  in  part 
from  an  address  by  Judge  Buel,  and  the  statement  of  Mr.  Clark  of  Northamp- 
ton. In  a  favourable  soil  it  rarely  happens  that  every  original  stalk  does  not 
produce  one  ear,  and  sometimes  two,  of  corn;  allowing  these  ears  to  produce  in 
shelled  corn  one  gill  each,  and  they  must  be  very  inferior  not  to  exceed  that 
quantity,  the  amount  produced  per  acre  by  different  methods  of  planting,  will 
be  as  follows,  four  stalks  being  allowed  to  each  hill  when  planted  in  that  form. 

An  acre  in  hills  four  feet  apart,  and  four  stalks  in  a  hill,  will  have  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty-two  hills,  or  ten  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  stalks.    An  acre  planted  three  feet  apart  will  have  four  thou- 


116  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

sand  eight  hundred  and  forty  hills,  or  nineteen  thousand  three  hundred  and 
sixty  stalks.  An  acre  planted  three  by  two  and  a  half  feet  -will  have  five 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  hills,  or  twenty-three  thousand  two  hundred 
and  thirty-two  stalks.  An  acre  planted  in  drills  at  three  feet,  and  the  plants 
in  the  rows  at  six  inches  distance,  would  have  twenty -nine  thousand  and  forty 
stalks.    An  acre  planted  in  double  drills, 


six  inches  apart,  the  plants  nine  inches  in  the  rows,  and  three  feet  nine  inches 
from  the  centre  of  the  drills,  would  have  thirty  thouc.and  nine  hundred  and 
seventy  stalks.    An  acre  planted  three  rows  in  a  drill,  thus, 


rows  six  inches  apart,  and  the  plants  nine  inches  in  the  rows,  with  a  distance 
of  three  feet  from  the  centre  of  the  drills — and  this  was  the  way  adopted  by  the 
Messrs.  Pratts  to  produce  their  great  crop — would  have  forty-three  thousand 
five  hundred  and  sixty  stalks.  Reduced  to  a  tabular  form,  and  a  gill  of  corn 
to  a  stalk  allowed,  and  the  result  would  be  thus: 

Rows  4  feet  by  4,        10,888  stalks,  42  bushels,  fractions  omitted. 
"       3       "        3,        19,360       "       75        "  " 

"       3       "        21,      23,232       "       93        "  " 

Drills  3  feet,  plants  )    09040      «     113        "  " 

6  inches,  J        ' 

Double     drills     as)    30979      "      lOQ        " 


'^ab'i've,'^""'      '1    43,560      "      170 


The  difference  is  indeed  most  striking,  yet  how  few  there  are  that  will  profit 
by  such  lessons.  We  continue  to  plant  our  corn  so  as  to  get  only  from  forty- 
five  to  fifty  bushels  an  acre,  when  the  same  soil  is  able  to  give  us  eighty  or  a 
hundred.  But  we  satisfy  ourselves  with  the  reflection,  that  our  fathers  were 
as  wise  as  most  men,  and  they  always  planted  their  corn  in  hills,  and  why 
should  we  deviate  from  such  a  practice.  The  best  corn  we  have  ever  raised, 
or  seen  raised,  was  planted  in  rows  two  and  a  half  feet  apart,  and  the  corn 
eighteen  inches  in  the  rows,  two  stalks  standing  together,  being  the  same  as  if 
planted  in  hills  at  three  by  two  and  a  half  feet. 

There  can  be  no  possible  doubt  of  another  thing  in  planting,  and  that  is,  our 
farmers  are  far  too  economical  of  their  seed  corn.  Better  to  use  double  the 
seed  actually  required,  than  to  have  your  land  but  half  supplied  with  plants. 
There  is  an  advantage  too  in  being  able  to  select  the  most  vigorous  plants  at 
hoeing,  while  the  weak  and  sickly  ones,  not  being  needed  to  stock  the  field,  can 
at  once  be  rejected.  Judge  Buel  has  estimated  the  expense  of  raising  a  crop 
of  corn  at  fifteen  dollars  per  acre,  allowing  five  dollars  for  rent  of  land.  Now, 
if  a  farmer  gets,  allowing  the  corn  worth  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  sixty  bushels, 
he  makes  fifteen  dollars  an  acre;  if  but  twenty  bushels,  he  loses  five  dollars; 
making  a  difierence  in  the  profits  of  twenty  dollars  between  twenty  and  sixty 
bushels  an  acre,  or  one  hundred  dollars  on  a  piece  of  five  acres.  Corn,  when 
properly  cultivated,  is  a  most  valuable  crop,  and  when,  as  for  several  years 
past  it  has,  commanded  seventy-five  cents  a  bushel,  it  is  a  very  profitable  one. 
It  ought,  moreover,  to  be  remembered,  that  the  extra  manuring  and  tilling  re- 
quired to  produce  a  heavy  crop  of  corn,  is  abundantly  repaid  in  the  increased 
quantities  of  wheat,  barley,  or  grass  that  may  follow.  Twenty  acres  of  good 
land  is  better  than  fifty  of  poor;  and  a  man  will  be  much  more  likely  to  get 
forty  bushels  of  wheat,  or  fifty  of  barley,  from  land  that  has  produced  a  hun- 
dred bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre,  than  from  that  which  will  not  produce  one- 
fifth  that  amount.  It  is  contrary  to  the  order  of  nature,  that  manure  and  labour 
applied  to  the  earth  should  be  lost. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  X17 


7.    RICE. 


Rice  has  been  known  and  cultivated  from  the  earliest  records 
of  the  human  race;  and  is  believed  to  furnish  food,  even  at 
the  present  day,  to  a  greater  nuniber  of  human  beings,  than 
any  other  grain.  It  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  India.  There 
is  held  to  be  but  one  species — oryza  sativa — common  rice. 
But  there  are  sub-species  and  varieties. 

The  rice  plant  is  not  unlike  barley  in  appearance;  the  grain 
is  covered  with  a  thick  yellowish  skin  or  husk,  and  has,  like 
barley,  an  awn  or  beard.  Rice  is  spread  over  all  the  warmer 
regions  of  the  old  world.  From  the  south  of  Europe  its  cul- 
ture has  lately  extended  to  the  more  northern  parts — to  West- 
phalia, and  even  to  the  low  countries.  It  appears  to  be  a  plant 
fitted  in  a  remarkable  degree  to  accommodate  itself  to  different 
situations.  Centuries  have  elapsed  since  it  was  introduced  into 
the  countries  north  of  the  Mediterranean — Greece,  Italy  and 
Spain.  More  recently  it  has  extended  to  Hungary  and  cen- 
tral Europe. 

The  valuable  large  white  rice  for  which  the  southern  states 
are  so  justly  noted,  came  to  us  without  book  or  direction,  from 
the  most  savage  of  the  African  islands,  and  from  the  fields  of 
Hindoostan,  then  entirely  under  their  native  princes,  in  the 
years  16SS  and  1696.  It  was  at  first  planted  on  uplands,  after- 
wards in  swamps.  It  has  spread  itself  throughout  South  Ame- 
rica and  the  West  India  Islands.* 

It  flourishes  most  luxuriantly  in  the  southern  states.  It  was 
not,  however,  very  extensively  cultivated  until  a  short  time  pre- 
vious to  the  revolution.  Yet  we  find  that  the  export  of  rice 
in  the  year  1790,  amounted  to  seventy-three  thousand  three 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  tierces — about  forty-four  millions  of 
pounds,  which  at  twenty  dollars  a  tierce,  is  one  million  four 
hundred  and  sixty-six  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty  dollars. 
This,  on  an  average  crop,  is  the  produce  of  only  sixty-five 
square  miles.  By  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
it  appears  that  the  exports  of  rice  for  the  year  ending  October 
1,  1837,  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  six  thousand  and  eighty- 
four  tierces,  of  the  value  of  two  millions  three  hundred  and 
nine  thousand  two  bundled  and  seventy-nine  dollars. 

*  Rice  was  first  planted  in  Carolina  by  Nathaniel  Johnson,  Governor  of 
the  Province,  in  1668;  but  owing  to  the  defect  of  the  seed  and  other  causes, 
its  culture  not  proving  successful,  was  abandoned.  In  the  year  1695,  a  vessel 
arrived  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  from  Madagascar,  the  master  of  which, 
furnished  a  Mr.  Woodwahd  with  about  half  a  bushel  of  rice,  of  superior 
quality,  and  from  this  small  beginning  sprung  an  immense  source  of  comfort 
as  wefl  as  of  wealth  to  the  southern  states.  "So  much  for  the  remnant  of  a  sea 
store  left  in  the  bottom  of  a  bag." — Editor. 


118  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

Rice  is  cultivated  to  the  best  advantage  in  low  marshy 
grounds,  or  in  situations  where  irrigation  may  be  practiced 
with  facility.  It  is  decidedly  a  marshy  plant — although  one 
kind  of  it,  the  mountain  rice,  thrives  on  the  slopes  of  hills, 
where  it  can  only  occasionally  attain  the  necessary  moisture. 
In  rice  growing  countries  the  fields  are  prepared  in  trenches, 
in  the  bottom  of  which  the  seeds  are  planted  regularly  by  the 
hand.  The  time  this  sowing  takes  place,  generally  early  in 
May,  depends  measurably  on  the  locality  and  the  season. 
When  the  sowing  is  completed,  the  ground  is  flooded  with 
water;  the  gates  are  then  closed,  and  the  seed  germinates  in 
the  moist  soil. 

In  about  a  month  the  fields  are  again  inundated  for  the  space 
of  several  days.  An  interval  now  takes  place  until  July, 
during  which  time  the  plants  are  hoed  and  weeded.  The 
w-ater  is  again  admitted,  and  is  allowed  to  remain  till  the  crop 
is  fully  ripe.  General  Thomas  Pinckney  has  furnished  the 
public  with  an  interesting  paper  on  the  water-culture  of  rice ;  his 
experiments  are  detailed  with  great  precision;  and  in  practice 
they  have  proved  highly  beneficial.*  The  extensive  cultiva- 
tion of  rice  in  the  neighbourhood  of  large  cities,  has  an  un- 
favourable influence,  it  is  thought,  upon  the  health  of  the  in- 
habitants. 

The  Farmer's  Assistant  says,  we  believe  that  almost  every 
kind  of  soil  is  fitted  for  the  growth  of  rice  that  is  sufiiciently 
moist  and  rich.  We  have  seen  it  flourish  in  a  moist  sandy 
loam  in  North  Carolina.  We  think  it  not  improbable,  taking 
into  the  account  the  disposition  of  this  plant  to  suit  itself  to  the 
varieties  of  climate,  that  at  no  very  distant  day  it  will  be  found 
practicable  to  mature  the  crop  in  almost  any  part  of  the  middle 
states. 


8.    THE  CANARY  GRASS,  &c. 

There  can  be  no  inducement  for  us  to  enter  into  the  exten- 
sive cultivation  of  these  and  some  other  articles  hereafter  to  be 
mentioned.  They  are  merely  introduced  to  record  the  re- 
sources of  our  agriculture — the  capabilities  of  our  soil  and  cli- 
mate, to  produce  and  bring  to  perfection,  any  thing  we  need, 
even  in  cases  of  necessity. 

The  cereal  grasses  that  have  been  enumerated,  afibrd  the 
main  part  of  the  farinaceous  food  of  mankind.  Besides  these, 
however,  other  grasses  are  cultivated  or  used  for  their  seeds, 

♦  See  old  American  Farmer,  vol.  iii.,  for  April  1823, 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS,  ng 

as  cultivated  Canary  grass,  floating  meadow  grass,  hairy  cocks- 
foot or  finger  grass.  The  Canary  grass  is  an  annual;  a  native 
of  the  Canary  Islands,  but  now  naturalized  in  several  parts  of 
Europe  and  South  America;  and  it  is  raised,  but  in  a  limited 
degree,  in  the  southern  states.  It  flowers  from  June  to  Au- 
gust, and  ripens  its  seeds  from  September  to  October. 

It  requires  a  loamy  soil,  in  good  heart,  well  pulverized;  the 
seeds  are  sown  in  rows,  at  about  a  foot  apart,  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  the  state  of  the  weather  will  justify;  quantity  of  seed, 
from  four  to  five  gallons  per  acre.  The  after  culture  consists  in 
keeping  the  soil  well  stirred  and  perfectly  free  from  weeds. 
The  common  produce  is  from  thirty  to  thirty-four  bushels  per 
acre;  but  under  the  best  management  it  has  often  yielded  fifty 
bushels  to  the  acre.  The  use  of  the  seed  is  chiefly  as  food  for 
Canary  and  other  cage  and  aviary  birds.  But  it  is  of  little 
economical  importance. 

Floating  meadow  grass  is  a  plant  tolerably  productive  of 
seeds,  which  are  sweet  and  nourishing.  They  are  collected  in 
some  parts  of  Germany,  Poland,  and  other  sections  of  Europe, 
whence  they  are  brought  to  England  and  this  country,  and  sold 
in  the  shops  under  the  name  of  manna.  The  plant  is  too 
aquatic  in  its  habits  to  admit  of  extended  cultivation. 

Hairy  cocksfoot  or  finger  grass  is  an  annual  plant;  it  is 
grown  in  sandy  cultivated  fields.  In  Poland  and  Lithuania 
it  abounds  by  the  road  sides;  and  its  seeds  being  collected  and 
boiled  with  milk,  in  the  manner  of  rice,  are  said  to  be  esteem- 
ed. Many  other  grasses  could  be  here  enumerated  as  yield- 
ing seeds  of  sufficient  size  to  be  used  as  food;  but  none  of  them 
can  be  regarded  as  fitting  subjects  of  cultivation  for  their  seeds. 


9.    BROOM  CORN— St/GAK  SORGUM. 

The  cultivation  of  broom  corn  is  carried  on  to  a  very  con- 
siderable extent  in  many  of  the  rich  intervals  of  New  Eng. 
land;  and  no  crop  perhaps,  pays  generally  better  on  the 
whole.  Some  towns  on  the  Connecticut  are  almost  exclusively 
devoted  to  its  culture  and  the  manufacture  of  its  panicles  into 
brooms,  wisks,  &c.,  a  very  simple  process.  It  is  somewhat 
singular,  that  its  cultivation  has  been  confined,  until  within  a 
few  years,  almost  exclusively  to  New  England;  and  it  is  not 
less  remarkable,  that  notwithstanding  its  importance,  in  no 
book  on  agriculture  can  any  account  of  the  history  or  the  cul- 
tivation of  this  plant  be  found.  It  is  not  even  mentioned,  we 
believe,  in  the  valuable  agricultural  books  published  in  New 


120  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

England.  Its  cultivation  has,  nevertheless,  extended;  and  it 
may  now  be  found  in  almost  every  section  of  the  country.  In 
some  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Virginia  and  Ohio 
it  is  cultivated  very  extensively  and  with  considerable  profit. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Colman — we  can  have  no  better  authority 
— says,  that  the  seed  is  considered  as  about  two-thirds  the 
value  of  oats;  and  that  mixed  with  corn  it  is  excellent  for  the 
fattening  of  cattle  and  swine.  The  return  of  seed  is  often  pre- 
carious, but  still  it  is  frequently  abundant,  and  will  often  more 
than  pay  the  whole  expense  of  cultivation  and  preparing  the 
crop  for  market.  The  seed  varies  from  twenty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre,  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  soil,  the  quality  of  seed,  culture  and  season.  One  thousand 
pounds  of  broom,  and  seventy  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre,  are 
considered  a  fair  crop  in  those  parts  of  New  England  where 
special  attention  is  devoted  to  its  culture.  The  quantity  rare- 
ly falls  below  four  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  acre,  and  as 
seldom  exceeds  twelve  hundred.  The  average,  at  the  present 
day,  is  probably  about  seven  hundred  pounds  to  the  acre, 
which,  with  very  little  extra  attention,  might  be  easily  brought 
up  to  one  thousand,  now  considered  by  many  cultivators  a  fair 
crop. 

The  broom  corn  requires  a  good  soil,  either  naturally  fertile, 
or  made  so  by  the  application  of  manures.  The  earth  should 
be  well  pulverized;  the  preparation  is  similar  to  that  for  Indian 
corn.  It  will  not  only  bear,  but  amply  reward  high  cultiva- 
tion. The  seed — and  ver}-  great  care  is  to  be  observed  in 
taking  it  from  the  largest  and  best  of  the  preceding  crop — is 
planted  in  rows;  these  rows  are  at  a  sufficient  distance  from 
each  other  to  admit  of  easy  culture  with  the  cultivator.  Some- 
times they  are  dropped  in  hills,  eighteen  inches  apart;  four  or 
five  stalks  are  by  some  persons  considered  sufficient  for  a  hill, 
others  allow  more. 

The  corn  frequently  attains  a  height  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
feet,  and,  when  uniform  and  in  perfection,  no  crop  is  more 
beautiful.  The  New  England  practice  is  to  table  the  corn; 
that  is,  to  cut  off  the  top  or  tassel,  as  the  broom  is  called,  and 
bending  the  stalks  of  two  rows  together,  lay  it  down  until  it 
is  seasoned  and  fit  to  be  carried  in.  In  the  spring  the  remain- 
der of  the  stalks  are  burnt  in  the  field.  This,  we  conceive,  is 
poor  economy,  as  they  afford  but  little  ashes.  They  would 
unquestionably  prove  a  valuable  addition  to  the  compost  heap, 
and  should,  therefore,  as  soon  as  they  are  topped,  be  transferred 
to  the  cattle  and  sheep  yards.  The  scraping  of  the  brush  is 
an  unpleasant  business,  and  sometimes  injurious  to  the  eyes. 
From  half  a  sallon  to  one  gallon  of  seed  is  used  to  the  acre. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 


121 


By   sale  of   1000   lbs. 

broom,  at  S^  cents,  $S5  00 
Seed,  valued  at  8  33 


The  price  of  the  broom  has  heretofore  been  subject  to  great 
fluctuations;  but  it  is  conceded  on  all  hands,  that  at  five  cents 
a  pound  it  is  a  good  crop;  it  more  frequently  commands  twelve. 
The  expense  of  cultivating  an  acre  is  variously  stated.  We 
have  met  with  no  account,  as  yet,  exceeding  the  following, 
for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  Rev.  H.  Colman. 

Statement  of  the  expenses  of  cultivating  an  acre  of  Broom 
Corn  in  Deerfield  Meadows,  in  the  year  1832,  by  Mr. 
Alvah  Hawkes. 

Dr.  Cr. 

May  12,  1832. 

One  ploughing,  $1   25 

Holeing  out,  ^    day's 

work,  34 

Ten   loads  manure,  at 
75  per  load. 

Putting  manure  in  hill, 

Planting,  1  day's  work, 

Seed,  4  quarts,  at  75 
cents  per  bushel. 

First  hoeing,  3l  days. 

Second  do.      3     do. 

Third     do.     21  do. 

Horse  and  boy  to  plough 
for  the  season,  1   00 

Tabling  and  cutting  up, 

4  days,  4  00 

Gathering,  carting,  pack- 
ing, &c.  2   50 


7 

50 

2 

00 

1 

00 

10 

3 

00 

2 

50 

2 

50 

Expense  of  cultivation,  27  69 
Scraping   1000  pounds 

bark,  3   30 

Board  of  man,  5  days,      1   07 
*Rent  of  land,  say  16  00 


S4S  06 


93   33 
48  06 


45  27 
By  error  in  rent  of  land,  10  00 


555  22 


*  This  must  certainly  be  an  error,  as  the  interest  of  the  land,  provided  it 
was  valued  at  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  would  amount  to  six  dollars  only 
per  annum. 
11 


222  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

It  thus  appears  that  when  the  crop  was  selling  at  a  low 
price,  eight  and  a  half  cents  per  pound,  it  produced  a  profit  of 
fifty-seven  dollars  and  twenty-seven  cents;  and  if  it  be  put 
down  at  the  lowest  price  it  has  ever  brought  in  the  market, 
say  five  cents,  it  would  still  leave  the  cultivator  twenty-two 
dollars  and  tsventy-seven  cents  per  acre.  The  season  was 
unfavourable,  and  consequently  the  yield  of  seed  was  trifling. 

Robert  G.  Johnson,  Esq.,  of  Salem,  New  Jersey,  a  gentle- 
man well  known  for  his  extensive  acquirements  and  great 
practical  knowledge,  furnished  some  time  since,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  Editor  of  the  Farmers'  Cabinet,  an  account  of  a 
crop  of  broom  corn  raised  on  his  plantation  in  the  summer  of 
1S39.      He  says: 

Mr.  F.  S.  Wiggins: 

Sir — My  land  is  a  loamy  soil,  and  in  good  condition,  producing  generally 
about  sixty  bushels  of  Indian  corn  per  acre— of  wheat  from  twenty  to  thirty — 
and  of  barley  from  thirty  to  fifty. 

My  usual"  method  is  to  cart  out  all  my  manure  from  the  barn-yard  through 
the  winter  and  early  in  the  spring,  so  that  the  greater  part  thereof  is  upon  the 
fields  by  the  time  the  plough  can  be  put  into  the  land.  The  cultivation  of  the 
broom  corn  by  Mr.  Brown,  (Col.  Johnson'.s  farmer,)  and  by  him  attended  to 
until  the  brooms  manufactured  by  him  were  sent  to  market,  amounted,  ac- 
cording to  his  estimate  furnished  me,  to  ninety-six  dollars  and  fifty  cents. 
While  in  conversation  with  him  he  drew  from  his  pocket  a  paper  containing 
the  following  words:  •'Was  rai.<;ed  on  eight  acres  of  land,  the  property  of  Ro- 
bert G.  Johnson,  broom  corn  that  made  four  hundred  dozen  of  brooms,  that 
weighed  one  and  a  quarter  pounds  each.  Many  of  the  stalks  measured  sixteen 
feet  six  inches  in  length,  and  produced  four  hundred  and  thirty  bushels  of 
seed. 

"Israel  E.  Brown."' 

I  would  observe  that  I  commonly  manure  my  land  at  the  rate  of  from  thirty 
to  forty  loads  per  acre — such  was  the  dressing  the  land  got  previous  to  the 
planting  of  the  broom  corn.  The  land  being  in  high  tilth,  produced,  from 
careful  attention,  a  most  luxuriant  crop  of  stalks;  I  think  they  must  have  ave- 
raged from  fourteen  to  sixteen  feet  in  height  throughout  the  whole  field.  I 
have  not  been  inclined  to  encourage  the  rearing  of  the  broom  corn  more  than 
a  sufiiciency  for  family  use.  I  consider  the  broom  corn  a  much  more  exhaust- 
ing crop  to  the  soil  than  any  other  grain.  There  appears  to  be  an  oleaginous 
quality  peculiar  to  it,  and  somewhat  analogous  to  flax  seed,  which  in  my  judg- 
ment has  a  tendency  to  produce  the  impoverishment  of  the  soil.  The  seed 
makes  excellent  food  for  hogs  and  cattle. 

Its  nutritious  quality  may  easily  be  discovered  from  the  fine  colour  and  taste 
"which  it  imparts  to  butter  from  the  cows  which  are  fed  on  it.  The  best  way 
To  use  the  grain  is  to  grind  it  with  a  portion  of  oats — say  about  one-third  of 
oats  to  two-thirds  of  the  seed.  Indeed  it  is  so  hard  and  flinty  that  it  should 
always  be  ground  before  feeding  it  to  any  kind  of  stock. 

Good  broom  corn  seed  weighs  about  fifty  pounds  to  the  bushel.  Its  value 
compared  to  oats  may  be  considered  as  about  half  as  much  again;  so  that 
should  the  market  price  of  oats  be,  say  twenty-five  cents  per  bushel,  the  broom 
corn  seed  would  be  worth  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents. 

Brooms.  I  think  there  is  a  diflerence  of  twenty-five,  if  not  thirty  per  cent, 
in  the  quality  of  brooms  sent  to  market,  from  such  as  I  generally  use  in  my 
family.  I  always  endeavour  to  procure  from  the  manufacturer,  and  for  which 
I  pay  him  an  extra  price,  such  as  are  made  from  the  stalks  before  the  seed 
ripens  on  them.  A  broom  made  from  such  tops  will  last  mnch  longer  than 
one  made  from  the  ripe  brush.  But  the  peculiar  excellency  of  the  broom  con- 
sists in  its  fibres  being  more  soft  and  elastic,  and  performing  the  act  of  brush- 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  123 

ing  or  sweeping,  similar  to  the  brush  made  of  bristles,  without  injuring  the 
carpet  if  used  prudently.  After  the  broom  shall  have  been  used  in  sweeping 
the  parlour,  and  the  finer  parts  worn  away,  it  will  then  be  as  good  to  sweep  the 
other  parts  of  the  house  as  the  best  new  broom  made  from  the  ripe  corn.  La- 
dies who  set  so  deservedly  such  a  high  value  upon  their  beautiful  Turkey  and 
Brussels  carpets,  should  purchase  none  other  than  such  as  are  made  from  the 
unripe  brusSi.  The  broom  made  from  such  may  be  easily  known  by  the  colour 
of  the  straw,  which  is  that  of  tea  or  sage;  the  fibre  or  straw  is  much  finer  and 
ofia  softer  feel  than  that  of  the  broom  made  from  the  ripe  corn— the  colour  of 
which  is  red,  or  inclining  to  red. 

The  Farmers'  Register,  for  January,  1839,  contains  a  paper 
read  before  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Fredericksburg,  Va., 
on  the  cultivation,  product,  and  uses  of  broom  corn.  From 
this  paper,  furnished  the  Society  by  Mr.  William  Browne, 
it  appears  that  that  gentleman,  in  connexion  with  a  Mr.  C.  H. 
Hunt,  having  established  a  broom  factory  in  Fredericksburg, 
cultivate  ten  or  twelve  acres  with  the  broom  corn.  The  ex- 
periment, both  as  to  the  culture  of  the  corn  and  its  manufacture 
into  brooms,  is,  so  far,  very  satisfactory.  Messrs.  Browne  and 
Hunt  work  mules  altogether,  and  feed  them  exclusively  on 
the  grain  of  the  broom  corn.  At  first  it  was  ground  and  mixed 
with  chop,  but  the  drought  stopping  the  mills,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  feed  the  grain  unground,  moistening  it  with  water  a 
few  hours  beforehand,  to  soften,  and  cause  it  to  swell  and  ex- 
pand. The  mules  not  only  appear  as  fond  of  it  as  of  other 
food,  but  they  continue  in  good  order  and  perform  their  work 
with  much  spirit.  Mr.  B.  says  that  he  fed  his  cow  on  this 
o-rain  for  some  weeks,  during  which  there  was  a  sensible 
increase  in  the  quantity  of  milk  beyond  what  she  yielded  when 
fed  on  bran  and  chop.  In  preparing  it  for  the  cow,  boiling 
water  was  poured  over  it,  and  it  was  kept  well  covered  in  a 
close  vessel,  until  the  grain  expanded  and  became  soft.  She 
ate  it  with  great  avidity.  The  grain  is  considered,  generally, 
at  least  equal  to  oats  for  horses  and  cattle,  and  superior  to 
buckwheat  for  hogs. 


IL    LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS. 
The  seeds  of  which  are  used  as  food  for  man  or  cattle. 

1.    THE  BEAN. 

The  bean  is  a  valuable  field  plant,  as  affording  food  for  live 
stock,  and  in  part  for  man.  It  came  originally  from  the  east, 
and  was  cultivated  in  Egypt  and  in  Barbary  in  the  earliest  ages 
of  which  we  have  any  records;  it  spread  from  thence  into  Eu- 


124  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

rope,  from  whence  some  of  the  best  varieties  have  been  intro- 
duced into  this  country.  Of  the  beans  which  form  the  subject 
of  cultivation  in  this  country,  there  may  be  said  to  be,  with 
respect  to  their  uses,  two  general  characters — those  cultivated 
in  the  fields,  and  are  thence  termed  field-beans,  and  those  which 
are  cultivated  in  gardens,  and  so  termed  garden-beans. 

The  varieties  most  commonly  selected  by  our  farmers,  as  a 
field  crop,  are  known  as  the  large  and  small  white  dwarfs,  and 
the  China  bean.  The  two  former  are  entirely  white,  and  the 
latter  has  a  spot  of  deep  red  upon  it.  The  two  former  have 
more  spreading  vines,  and  do  not  ripen  so  soon  as  the  latter, 
which  grows  with  less  vine  or  bush,  yields  well,  and  ripens 
early. 

Light  sandy  lands  are  generally  preferred  in  this  country 
lor  beans;  for  upon  such  lands  they  do  not  run  so  much  to 
vines,  ripen  earlier,  and  are  more  easily  tended.  English  au- 
thorities state  that  it  is  well  suited  to  the  stiffer  clays;  that  it 
is  an  exhausting,  but  cleansing  crop.  General  Armstrong,  in 
his  Treatise  on  Agriculture,  states  that  the  bean  has  a  tendency 
to  fit  and  meliorate  a  stifi"soil  for  the  succeeding  crop. 

There  are  three  methods  of  planting  the  bean.  The  first  in 
hills,  the  second  in  drills,  and  the  third  sowing  broadcast.  The 
adoption  of  either  of  these  methods  must  be  left  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  farmer,  as  the  advantage  of  either  will  depend  upon 
circumstances,  the  nature  of  the  soil,  whether  it  is  free  from 
weeds,  and  what  crop  is  designed  to  follow.*  The  produce 
per  acre  varies  according  to  circumstances;  from  twenty-six 
to  forty  bushels — as  many  as  sixty  have  been  raised  in  this 
country,  but  the  crop  was  properly  attended  to.  In  England 
the  average  is  about  thirty  bushels. 

Cultivation  of  the  Bean.  An  enlightened  agriculturist,! 
furnished  for  the  Agricultural  Tracts,  the  following  brief  but 
comprehensive  account  of  the  method  he  adopted  in  the  field 
culture  of  the  bean. 

Beans  may  be  cultivated  in  drills  or  in  hills.  They  are  a  valuable  crop; 
and,  with  good  care,  are  as  profitable  as  a  wheat  crop.  They  leave  the  soil 
in  good  tilth.  The  China  bean,  with  a  red  eye,  is  to  be  preferred.  They 
ripen  early,  and  are  very  productive.  I  cultivated  beans  the  last  year  in  three 
different  wavs,  viz.  in  hills,  in  drills,  and  sowed  broadcast. 

I  need  not  describe  the  first,  which  is  a  well  known  process.  I  had  an  acre 
in  drills,  which  was  the  best  crop  I  ever  saw.  My  management  was  this:  on 
an  acre  of  light  ground,  where  the  clover  had  been  frozen  out  the  preceding 
winter,  I  spread  eight  loads  of  long  manure,  and  immediately  ploughed  and 
harrowed  the  ground.  Drills  or  furrows  were  then  made  with  a  light  plough, 
at  the  distance  of  two  and  a  half  feet,  and  the  beans  thrown  along  the  furrows, 
about  the  25lh  of  May,  by  the  hand,  at  the  rate  of  at  least  a  bushel  on  the  acre. 
I  then  gauged  a  double  mould-board  plough,  which  was  passed  once  between 

*  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  82.  t  Jesse  Buel,  Esq. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  125 

the  rows,  and  was  followed  by  a  light  one-horse  roller,  which  flattened  the 
ridges. 

The  crop  was  twice  cleaned  of  weeds,  by  the  hoe,  but  not  earthed.  The  pro- 
duct was  more  than  forty-eight  bushels,  by  actual  measurement.  The  beans 
brought  me  'one  dollar  the  bushel  last  fall.  The  third  experiment  was  like- 
wise upon  a  piece  of  ground  where  the  clover  had  been  killed.  It  was  plough- 
ed about  the  first  of  June,  the  seed  sown  like  peas,  upon  the  first  furrow,  and 
harrowed  in.  The  drought  kept  them  back;  but  about  sixty-five  rods  of 
ground,  on  which  the  experiment  was  made,  gave  a  product  of  twelve  and  a 
half  bushels.  The  crop  was  too  ripe  when  it  was  harvested,  and  as  it  was  cut 
with  a  scythe,  I  estimated  that  about  two  and  a  half  bushels  were  left  upon  the 
ground.  "No  labour  was  bestowed  upon  them  from  the  time  they  were  sown 
till  they  were  harvested. 

Harvesting.  The  bean  should  be  suffered  to  ripen  itself 
thoroughly — but  not  to  become  over-ripe.  The  period  of 
ripening  will  be  denoted  by  the  skin  of  the  seeds  having  ac- 
quired a  yellowish  leather-like  appearance.  They  may  be  cut 
by  the  scythe  or  by  the  sickle.  When  the  sickle  is  used  the 
utmost  care  is  to  be  taken  that  the  plants  be  cut  low,  both  on 
account  of  the  value  of  the  straw  and  of  the  saving  of  such  pods 
as  may  be  growing  near  the  bottom  of  the  stem. 

The  beans  are  to  be  formed  into  sheaves,  by  tying  them  with 
straw-ropes  previously  prepared ;  or,  when  peas  are  mixed  with 
beans,  by  ropes  formed  of  the  stems  of  the  peas  twisted  on  the 
spot  at  the  time  of  reaping.  The  English  practice  is,  merely 
to  lay  the  beans  on  these  ropes  in  the  first  place,  and  leave 
them  in  the  field  for  a  few  days  to  dry,  before  they  are  bound 
into  sheaves.  When  the  sheaves  are  bound,  they  are  set  up 
into  double-rowed  shocks,  without  any  covering  of  head- 
shocks.  The  straw  of  the  bean  is  nutritious  and  wholesome. 
For  horses,  it  is  reckoned  little  inferior  to  hay. 

The  bean  is  a  plant  subject  to  disease — the  most  common, 
a  species  of  rust,  by  which  it  is  affected  in  nearly  the  same 
way  as  wheat  is  by  the  rust  or  mildew.  It  is  also  liable  to  the 
attacks  of  insects. 


2.    THE  PEA. 

The  pea  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe 
— it  has  been  cultivated  in  England  from  time  immemorial — 
and  in  this  country  from  its  earliest  settlement.  It  has  been 
found  growing  spontaneously  in  the  western  sections  of  our 
country.  The  varieties  of  the  pea  are  numerous;  some  of 
which  are  more  and  others  less  valuable  for  cultivation. 

Of  these  W\q  field  pea  alone  comes  within  the  range  of  our 
present  purpose.  Of  this,  there  are  two  varieties,  denomi- 
11* 


126  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

nated  from  their  colour  the  grey  or  white  and  the  green,*  both 
productive,  and  when  separated  from  the  skin  that  surrounds 
them,  a  food  of  excellent  quality  for  man,  wholesome,  nutri- 
tive, and  pleasant — and  for  cattle,  whether  in  a  dry  or  green 
state,  much  to  be  recommended.  Sheep,  cows  and  horses,  are 
particularly  fond  of  them;  and  hogs  are  more  promptly  and 
economically  fattened  on  a  mixture  of  pea  and  barley  meal,  in 
a  state  of  acetous  fermentation,  than  by  any  other  food.t 

The  pea  is  extensively  cultivated  for  use  in  its  green  state — 
and  no  species  of  cultivation  is  more  profitable  than  this  were 
it  can  be  adopted — for  the  pea  being  ready  for  market  in  May 
and  June,  time  is  allowed  for  taking  another  suitable  crop 
during  the  same  season.  The  practice  of  gathering  them  in 
their  green  state,  must  be  necessarily  limited  to  the  vicinity  of 
cities  and  market-towns,  in  which  they  command  a  large  price. 
It  is  rather,  therefore,  the  province  of  the  gardener  than  of  the 
agriculturist. 

The  pea  crop  is  a  valuable  one,  combining  peculiar  advan- 
tages with  both  the  wheat  and  pork  husbandry  of  this  country. 
As  a  preparation  for  wheat,  nothing  exceeds  it.  In  the  state 
of  New  York  alone,  thousands  of  acres  are  annually  sown  with 
peas,  and  of  course,  as  many  acres  are  prepared  in  the  best 
manner  for  wheat.  To  hogs,  the  pea  crop  supplies  the  best  of 
food,  especially  in  the  incipient  stages  of  their  fattening;  and 
coming,  as  the  crop  fortunately  does,  to  maturity  at  a  season 
peculiarly  useful  for  that  purpose,  gives  them  an  additional 
value.  J 

Soil  and  situation.  A  loose,  warm  soil,  moderately  rich, 
and  the  deeper  and  stronger  for  the  lofty  growers,  is  most 
favourable.  Stable  manure,  or  unreduced  dung,  recently  turn- 
ed in,  will  injure  the  crop — decomposed  vegetable  matter  is 
the  best  manure  that  can  be  applied.  The  soil  for  the  early 
crops  should  be  very  dry,  ancl  rendered  so,  where  the  ground 
is  too  moist,  by  mixing  sand  with  the  earth  of  the  drills. 

Sowing.  After  the  ground  has  been  well  prepared  or  pul- 
verized by  cross  ploughings  and  the  liberal  use  of  the  harrow, 
the  drill  may  be  laid  out  two  and  a  half  to  four  feet  distance  to 
each  other,  and  two  inches  deep:  as  peas  grown  without  sticks 
require  the  least  room,  the  seed  may  be  distributed  in  the  drill 
according  to  their  size  and  season,  and  as  near  each  other  as 
the  judgment  of  the  cultivator  may  direct.  From  a  bushel  and 
a  half  to  two  bushels  are   allowed  per  acre.     The  distances 

*  The  small  June  peas,  the  marrowfat,  and  the  black-eyes,  are  cultivated  to 
a  considerable  extent,  and  command,  generally,  fair  prices, 
t  Treatise  on  Agriculture— Section  ix.— The  Plough  Boy. 
t  Letters  iVom  a  Father  to  a  Son — No.  xii. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  127 

vary  according  to  the  size,  from  a  half  to  two  inches — the  lat- 
ter space  being  considered  best  for  the  largest,  and  the  first 
mentioned,  the  smallest  kind.  The  land  is  then  harrowed 
across,  and  thus  the  seeds  are  sufficiently  covered. 

The  after  culture,  though  simple,  should  be  effective.  When 
the  plants  are  a  few  feet  above  ground,  the  expanding  cultiva- 
tor is  to  pass  along  the  intervals,  the  teeth  being  set  as  near 
the  rows  of  plants  as  possible  without  injuring  them.  Then, 
before  the  plants  come  into  flower,  a  hand  passes  along  the 
rows,  and  hoes  up  and  removes  all  the  weeds.  This  completes 
the  culture  of  the  pea,  which  will  now  grow  with  great 
rapidity,  and  soon  cover  the  intervals. 

Early  hoeing,  in  the  case  of  this  plant,  should  never  be  ne- 
glected. The  effect  is  not  only  to  repress  the  growth  of 
weeds,  until  the  plant  shall  have  required  sufficient  strength, 
but,  as  in  nearly  all  cases  of  tilling  the  ground  about  the  stems, 
to  give  increased  vigour  to  the  growth  of  the  plants. 

From  the  manner  of  the  growth  of  the  pea,  and  from  its 
stems  quickly  stretching  over  the  intervals,  the  process  of  hoe- 
ing should  be  commenced  early,  and  perseveringly  persisted 
in.  After  the  first  crop  of  weeds  is  destroyed,  the  plants 
themselves  will  generally  stifle  all  that  may  spring  up  during 
the  subsequent  period  of  their  growth.  This  is  the  system 
under  which  the  pea  is  beneficially  cultivated.  The  land  will 
thus  be  cleaned  in  an  efficient  manner,  and  prepared  for  any 
crop  of  grain  that  is  to  follow. 

In  harvesting,  the  ordinary  management  of  the  pea  difiers 
but  little  from  that  of  the  other  kinds  of  grain  mentioned. 
Some  employ  a  tool  called  a  peas-mate,  which  is  merely  the 
half  of  an  old  scythe  fixed  to  a  handle.  With  this  they  are 
cut,  and  rolled  up  into  what  are  called  wads  or  wisps,  and  left 
to  dry.  In  other  cases,  old  blunt  hooks  are  employed,  by 
pulling  which  towards  the  reaper,  the  plant  is  torn  and  broken 
at  the  surface,  rather  than  cut. 

Diseases  and  Insects.  The  pea,  like  the  bean,  is  subject  to 
various  diseases.  Like  it,  it  suffers  from  rust,  and  is  rather 
more  subject  to  injury  from  insects  at  the  roots.  The  pea-bug 
is  the  most  formidable  enemy  that  the  crop  has  to  contend 
with  in  this  country;  but  it  is  believed  that,  with  proper  pre- 
cautions, the  crop  can  be  entirely  rescued  from  the  depreda- 
tions of  these  mischievous  insects. 

It  has  been  recommended  to  place  the  seed  in  a  basket,  and 
immerse  the  basket  in  a  kettle  of  boiling  water;  spread  the 
seed  immediately  on  a  floor,  and  plant  as  soon  as  possible. 
This  process,  while  it  is  said  to  destroy  the  insect,  does  not 
afiect  the  vitality  of  the  seed.     But  the  greatest  precaution  is 


228  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

to  be  observed,  combined  with  good  judgment.  Others  strong- 
ly recommend  the  sowing  of  old  seed.  The  Hon.  Timothy 
Pickering  says,  that  late  sowing  is  an  effectual  remedy:  and 
Col.  WoRTHiNGTON,  of  Rcnsalcar  county,  New  York,  con- 
firms it.  He  sowed  his  peas  on  the  10th  of  June  six  years  in 
succession,  and  a  bug  has  never  been  seen  among  them; 
whereas  his  neighbours,  who  have  not  adopted  his  practice, 
have  scarcely  a  pea  without  a  bug  in  it.* 


3.    BUCKVl^HEAT. 

This  plant  is  cultivated  for  the  farina  of  its  seed.  It  is  a 
native  of  Asia;  whence  it  was  carried  into  Africa,  and  thence 
by  the  Moors  was  introduced,  four  centuries  since,  into  Eu- 
rope, from  whence  the  species,  Polygonum  Fagopyrum — 
common  Buckwheat, — so  extensively  cultivated  in  the  United 
States,  was  derived.  Travellers  assert,  that  it  grows  wild  and 
most  luxuriantly  in  some  parts  of  our  western  country.  It  is 
an  annual,  with  upright  leafy  stems,  and  rising  from  one  to 
three  feet  in  height.  This  plant  possesses  numerous  excellen- 
cies, which  have  been  too  long  neglected  or  overlooked  by 
many  farmers. 

Soil  and  preparation.  Buckwheat  flourishes  best  in  a  mel- 
low, dry,  loose,  sandy  soil — it  will,  however,  grow  on  the 
poorest  soils,  and  produce  a  crop  in  from  three  to  four  months; 
but  a  good  crop  can  only  be  expected  from  a  soil  tolerably 
rich.t  It  should  never  be  sown  on  wet  poachy  ground.  The 
soil  may  be  prepared  in  different  v/ays,  according  to  the  inten- 
tion of  the  future  crop;  and  for  this  there  is  ample  time,  whe- 
ther the  crop  is  designed  for  seed,  or  to  be  turned  under  by  the 
plough.  The  application  of  a  bushel  of  gypsum,  when  that 
manure  is  suited  to  the  soil,  will  prove  highly  beneficial  to  the 
crop. 

Sowing.  In  the  latitude  of  Chester  county,  if  for  seed,  the 
month  of  June  is  generally  preferred.  The  surest  way  is  to 
sow  it  sufficiently  early  to  enable  it  to  come  to  maturity  before 
the  fall  frosts.  "In  the  state  of  New  York,  farmers  sow  it  in 
August  with  winter  wheat.     It  affords  them  a  ripe  crop  in  the 

*  Memoirs  New  York  Board  of  Agriculture,  vol.  ii.  p.  23. 

t  The  grain  of  Buckwheat  affords  a  favourite  article  of  food— is  much  cul- 
tivated in  some  districts— particularly  those  which  are  rough  and  hilly.  It  is 
considered  a  severe  crop  upon  the  soil,  and  is  rarely  sown  upon  highly  im- 
proved land— but  it  is  admirably  adapted  to  subdue  new  or  wild  lands.  The 
flowers  are  a  favourite  resort  of  the  honey-bee.— jP/ora  Cestrica,  by  Dr.  Wm. 
Darlington,  p.  253. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  129 

fall,  without  injury  to  the  wheat,  which  grows  with,  and  suc- 
ceeds it."*  The  quantity  of  seed  to  the  acre  is  determined  by 
the  method  of  planting — if  sown  broadcast,  as  is  usual,  a  bushel 
is  sufficient — if  in  drills,  half  that  quantity  will  answer. 

The  harvesting  of  buckwheat,  and  its  subsequent  manage- 
ment, is  similar  to  that  of  the  other  grains.  It  may  be  cut  by 
the  scythe;  after  which  it  should  remain  in  the  field  a  suitable 
time,  previous  to  being  housed.  As  it  is  very  liable  to  heat, 
it  is  recommended  to  put  it  in  small  stacks  of  four  to  six  loads, 
instead  of  large  stacks,  or  being  placed  in  the  barn. 

The  produce  varies  greatly  under  different  states  of  soil  and 
culture.  From  thirty  to  forty-five  bushels  may  be  reckoned 
as  an  average  yield  in  a  favourable  season — though  from  sixty 
to  eighty  bushels  are  not  unfrequently  raised.  It  is  in  flower 
throughout  the  summer,  and  would  yield  much  larger  crops  if 
there  was  uniformity  in  its  ripening. 

This  grain  is  used  for  a  great  variety  of  purposes.  In  the 
old  world,  it  is  mixed  with  other  grains,  and  (as  it  afibrds  a, 
nutritious  meal,  not  apt  to  sour  on  the  stomach,)  it  forms  a  large 
portion  of  the  bread  used  by  the  labouring  classes.  In  our  own 
country,  for  culinary  purposes,  it  is  used  chiefly  for  making 
what  is  termed  buckwheat  cakes — an  article  celebrated  through- 
out the  Union. 

The  seeds  of  buckwheat  are  given  advantageously  to  cows, 
poultry  and  hogs;  properly  prepared,  it  is  very  nourishing. 
The  stem  or  straw  of  the  bucl^vvheat,  if  cut  in  season,  is  said  to 
afford  an  excellent  and  agreeable  fodder  for  cattle,  especially 
milch  cows.  An  intelligent  and  observing  agriculturist  near 
Baltimore,!  says  that  for  milch  cows  it  is  better  than  the  best 
timothy  hay;  they  eat  it  with  equal  avidity,  and  if  it  has  not 
been  exposed  too  long  to  the  vicissitudes  of  the  weather,  it  will 
prove  equally  nutritious.  It  proniotes  the  secretion  of  milk; 
and  when  cut  and  boiled  or  steamed,  it  makes  a  most  accept- 
able slop. 

It  is  of  an  enriching  nature — not  an  exhauster  of  the  soil,  as 
some  have  supposed — having  the  quality  of  preparing  for  wheat 
or  any  other  crop.  The  principal  value  is  not  so  much  in  the 
seed  it  yields,  as  the  great  good  it  does  the  land  by  shading  it 
from  the  sun.  One  of  the  purposes  to  which  it  has  been  ap- 
plied, from  time  immemorial,  and  for  which,  from  the  rapidity 
of  its  growth,  it  seems  well  adapted,  is  the  ploughing  of  it  down 
green  as  a  manure  for  the  land. 

"We  cannot  too  much  recommend,  after  our  old  and  con- 
stant practice,  the  employment  of  this  precious  plant  as  a  ma- 

*  Complete  Farmer,  page  148. 

+  E.  P.  Roberts,  Esq.,  late  editor  of  the  Farmer  and  Gardener, 


J 30  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

nure.  It  is  certainly  the  most  economical  and  convenient  the 
farmer  can  employ.  A  small  quantity  of  seed,  costing  a  mere 
trifle,  sows  a  large  surface  and  gives  a  great  crop.  When  in 
flower,  first  roll,  and  then  plough  it  in,  and  it  is  soon  converted 
into  manure."*  This  crop,  it  is  said,  is  eflectual  in  destroying 
that  pest  of  the  farmer  called  quick  grass,  couch  grass,  and 
probably  known  by  other  names.  The  plan  is  to  sow  as  early 
as  possible;  as  soon  as  the  buckwheat  comes  fully  into  flower, 
roll  it,  and  turn  it  under;  the  seed  for  another  crop  is  then 
sown  and  harrowed  in;  this  springs  up,  and  has  time,  if  the 
season  is  favourable,  to  ripen  before  frost  sets  in.t 

*  C.  Serres,  editor  Theatre  D'Agriculture. 
t  Mr.  T.U'LORj  in  Maine  Farmer. 


131 


VII.— PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  ROOTS, 
TUBERS  AND  LEAVES. 

I.    THE  POTATO. 

This  most  important  plant  is  a  native  of  this  country — and 
in  view  of  its  great  value,  Professor  Low  has  very  justly  ob- 
served, that  it  is  considered  as  the  most  precious  gift  of  the 
New  World  to  the  Old, — as  it  now  forms  a  great  portion  of 
the  food  of  the  inhabitants  of  Europe.  It  was  first  introduced 
into  England  by  the  brave  and  unfortunate  Sir  Walter  Ra- 
leigh. It  is  said  to  have  been  received  in  Spain  from  South 
America,  during  the  sixteenth  century.  The  Spaniards  called 
it  haltatas.  It  appears  to  have  found  its  way  first  to  Italy  from 
Spain,  and  in  15SS  it  was  known  in  Vienna. 

The  history  of  its  introduction  into  the  various  countries  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  is  remarkable.  When  introduced  into  France, 
and  subject  to  the  very  imperfect  methods  of  analysis  of  that 
day,  its  cultivation  was  proscribed  by  the  government,  on  ac- 
count of  the  supposed  deleterious  matter  it  contained.  It  was 
every  where  received  with  tardiness,  distrust  or  contempt — 
while  another  plant  of  the  same  natural  family,  the  Tobacco, 
possessing  merely  the  properties  of  a  narcotic,  was  no  sooner 
made  known  than  it  was  received  with  eagerness  in  every  part 
of  the  habitable  world. 

It  grows  exempt  from  the  hazards  to  which  almost  all  other 
crops  are  subject.  Its  tubers  ripen  under  the  earth,  and  so  are 
defended  from  the  effects  of  winds  and  storms.  It  yields  a 
larger  quantity  of  fecula,  [starch  or  farina,]  which  can  be  ob- 
tained separately  from  the  tuber.  It  may  be  used  in  its  natural 
state,  either  directly  as  the  food  of  man,  or  for  the  feeding  of 
domestic  animals.  In  the  latter  case  it  should  invariably  be 
steamed. 

The  potato  has  a  wider  range  of  soils  and  climate  than  most 
other  cultivated  plants.  It  grows  on  soils  the  lowest  in  the 
scale  of  fertility,  and  is  capable  of  supporting  a  greater  number 
of  human  beings  upon  the  same  extent  of  ground  than  any 
other  plant  cultivated  in  the  temperate  regions.  These  pro- 
perties,and  its  general  consumption, has  unquestionably  lessened 
the  hazards  of  famine,  but  it  has  added  immensely  to  the  com- 
forts of  the  labouring  people — hence  we  not  unfrequently  hear 
emigrants  speak  of  it  as  the  manna  of  the  jjoor. 


132  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

Under  every  system  it  is  a  beneficial  object  of  culture — and 
to  the  settlers  of  new  countries,  it  is,  of  all  the  cultivated  plants, 
the  securest,  the  most  easily  produced,  and  the  least  liable  to 
the  contingencies  of  the  seasons.  It  rises  with  a  branched  and 
succulent  stem,  bearing  white  or  purplish  flowers.  The  fruit 
is  a  round  berry,  generally  about  the  size  of  a  plum,  containing 
numerous  small  seeds.  The  root  has  many  tubers  attached  to 
it,  of  a  round  or  oblong  form. 

The  potato  may  be  propagated  for  its  seeds,  by  which  neic 
varieties  are  obtained — or,  by  planting  the  tubers,  in  which 
case  plants,  similar  to  the  old,  are  produced.  When  raised 
from  the  tubers,  they  yield  their  full  produce  in  one  season — 
that  in  which  they  are  planted;  but  when  propagated  from  their 
seeds,  several  successive  years  are  required  to  bring  the  tubers 
to  their  full  size.  The  tuber,  therefore,  though  it  is  sometimes 
planted  entire,  is,  for  the  most  part,  cut  into  several  pieces,  as 
each  one  generally  contains  many  buds,  (eyes,)  or  gumens, 
from  each  of  which  a  stem  will  arise. 

Obtaining  new  varieties.  We  have  already  observed  that 
new  varieties  are  obtained  by  cultivating  from  the  seed.  Many 
of  the  early  varieties  do  not  blossom  at  all.  This  difficulty  has 
been  surmounted,  and  the  habits  of  the  plant  illustrated,  hy  an 
expedient  adopted  by  a  scientific  culturist,  T.  A.  Knight,  Esq. 
The  tubers  are  removed  by  the  hand  as  they  are  formed,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  the  vegetable  juices  are  directed  to  the  stem, 
and  thus  blossoms  and  seeds  are  produced. 

The  mode  of  procuring  new  varieties  from  seeds  is  simple, 
but  tedious.  Some  of  the  largest  and  best  formed  berries, 
when  fully  ripe,  which  is  denoted  by  the  change  of  their 
colour,  and  by  the  stalk  having  become  withered,  are  plucked, 
and  the  pulp  separated  from  their  seeds,  which  are  then  dried 
in  the  sun.  These  seeds  are  to  be  sown  in  the  following 
spring,  and  the  produce  to  be  taken  up  early  in  October.  They 
will  then  have  nearly  obtained  the  size  of  small  plums.  The 
best  of  these  are  to  be  selected  and  carefully  preserved.  In 
the  month  of  April  following — in  some  latitudes  early  in  May 
— they  are  to  be  planted  at  a  distance  from  one  another  of 
from  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches;  and  when  they  rise  about  two 
inches  above  the  ground,  the  fresh  earth  should  be  drawn 
lightly  around  them,  and  they  must  be  kept  free  from  weeds 
throughout  the  season. 

W^hen  they  have  arrived  at  maturity,  which  will  be  denoted 
by  the  decay  of  the  several  stems,  they  are  to  be  taken  up  in 
succession  as  they  ripen — keeping  the  early  separate  from  the 
late.  The  produce  of  each  stalk  is  again  to  be  planted  in  the 
following  spring.      A  judgment  of  the  properties  of  the  pota- 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  X33 

toes  will  then  have  been  formed,  and  those  only  are  to  be  re- 
served for  cultivation  which  are  approved  of.  It  will  be  found 
that,  whatever  has  been  the  parent  stock,  the  seeds  will  pro- 
duce numerous  varieties,  some  white,  some  dark  in  the  colour, 
with  tubers  of  different  forms — round,  oblong  and  kidney- 
shaped.  This  is  a  tedious  process,  but  necessary  when  it  is 
desired  to  cultivate  new  varieties  from  seeds. 

Preparation  of  the  land.  In  preparing  the  land  for  pota- 
toes, it  ought  to  be  ploughed  late  in  the  preceding  autumn — a 
slight  sprinkling  of  lime  over  the  ground  before  the  turning  of 
the  furrows,  which  should  be  as  deep  as  the  nature  of  the  soil 
will  justify — will  be  found  beneficial  to  the  crop.  The  plough- 
ing should  be  lengthwise,  so  as  to  keep  the  ridges  dry.  In 
the  ensuing  spring,  as  soon  as  the  other  labours  of  the  farm 
will  allow,  and  the  land  is  sufficiently  dry,  it  is  to  be  cross- 
ploughed  and  harrowed,  by  repeated  turns  of  the  harrow,  in 
every  direction. 

The.  roller  also,  if  necessary,  is  to  be  employed  to  reduce 
the  soil;  and  all  the  root- weeds  are  to  be  carefully  collected 
and  carried  away,  to  be  formed  into  a  compost,  as  is  described 
in  page  61.  The  land  is  then  ploughed  in  a  direction  cross- 
ing the  last  ploughing;  that  is,  the  plough  is  carried  across  the 
field  diagonally,  as  it  is  not  only  desirable,  but  important,  that 
each  alternate  ploughing  should  cross  the  previous  one;  and 
as  the  next  turn  forms  the  drills  they  will  be  in  the  direction 
of  the  former  ridges.  Thus  all  the  ploughings  are  made  to 
traverse  each  other. 

The  distance  from  centre  to  centre,  or  in  other  words,  the 
breadth  of  the  drills  at  the  base,  vary  from  twenty  to  thirty 
inches.  The  drills,  if  not  formed  at  the  last  ploughing  as  above 
mentioned,  may  be  laid  out  by  means  of  a  small  drill  plough, 
calculated  to  turn  a  deep  narrow  furrow. 

The  majiure,  when  the  drills  are  formed  in  this  manner,  is 
to  be  spread  in  suitable  quantities  in  the  hollows.  Dung,  in 
all  cases,  it  is  known,  acts  most  quickly  upon  young  plants 
when  it  is  well  prepared;  but  in  the  case  of  the  potato,  it  is 
not  necessary.  It  should,  however,  undergo  some  slight  fer- 
mentation. 

The  quantity  of  manure  varies  according  to  the  character 
of  the  soil  and  other  circumstances.  From  twenty  to  thirty 
common  loads  of  barn-yard  manure  is  considered  sufficient, 
when,  instead  of  being  deposited  in  the  drills,  it  is  spread  on 
the  surface  and  ploughed  in.  A  liberal  application  in  either 
case  is  necessary.  When  the  plan  of  ploughing  in  the  manure 
is  adopted,  the  addition  of  about  twenty  bushels  of  lime  may 
12 


134  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

be  applied  with  great  benefit;  but  if  the  "planting  is  under  a 
fresh  sod,  the  liming  should  be  deferred  until  the  tops  are  just 
coming  through  the  ground,  then  harrow,  spread  the  lime,  and 
harrow  again."  It  is  stated  by  Joseph  Cloud,  Esq.,  one  of 
the  Vice  Presidents  of  the  Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting 
Agriculture,  that  for  two  or  three  years  past  several  of  his 
friends  had  experimented  on  the  culture  of  potatoes,  substitut- 
ing the  sulphate  of  lime  for  putrescent  manures.  The  lime 
was  strewed  liberally  along  the  furrows,  and  directly  upon  the 
potatoes.  Their  subsequent  treatment  was  after  the  usual 
manner.  The  results  proved  highly  satisfactory — particularly 
the  last  season — arising,  probably,  from  a  defect  of  moisture, 
to  promote  the  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter.  The  cause, 
■whatever  it  may  have  been,  remains  to  be  developed.  The 
effects  are  of  vast  importance  in  the  science  of  agriculture. 

The  proper  manure,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  that 
formed  and  prepared  in  the  barn-yard.  Bone  dust  has  been 
employed  with  good  effect.  Lime  has  been  found  very  bene- 
ficial, though  by  some  its  application  has  been  condemned. 
It  is  thought  to  destroy  worms,  slugs  and  insects,  and  to  bring 
the  crop  earlier  to  maturity.  A  large  table  spoonful  of  plas- 
ter thrown  upon  the  potato  in  the  drill,  is  highly  recommend- 
ed, as  tending  greatly  to  increase  the  crop. 

Planting.  As  soon  as  the  manure  is  spread  along  the  hol- 
lows of  the  drills,  the  potatoes  are  to  be  planted.  The  potato, 
or  the  sets,  as  the  case  may  be,  are  placed  directly  upon  the 
manure,  from  ten  to  twelve  inches  from  each  other.  In  this 
operation  the  planter  is  directed  by  the  eye.  The  seeds  are 
now  covered  by  splitting  each  drill,  so  that  the  top  of  the  new 
drill  formed  is  immediately  above  the  hollow  of  the  old  one. 
This  simple  series  of  operations  completes  this  method  of  plant- 
ing the  potato. 

The  time  of  planting  varies  according  to  the  latitude,  the 
season,  and  the  state  of  the  farm  work.  They  have  been 
planted  in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  as  early  as  the  fif- 
teenth of  March,  and  as  late  as  the  fifth  of  August.  These  are 
the  extremes,  and  cannot  be  recommended,  though  fair  crops 
have  been  produced.  The  best  time  is  from  the  first  to  the 
twentieth  of  May.  Good  crops  depend  upon  tillage,  seed, 
soil,  manure,  and  the  season. 

There  are  other  modes  of  planting  preferred  by  many  intel- 
ligent farmers.  The  practice,  once  universally  prevalent,  of 
hauling  up  the  ground,  and  raising  high  hills  about  potatoes, 
only  to  turn  off  the  water  which  the  crop  needs,  has  not  been 
able  to  abide  the  light  of  science  or  the  experience  of  modern 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  135 

times.     It  is  now  almost  universally  exploded  as  absurd,  un- 
philosophical  and  mischievous  to  the  crop.* 

On  the  selection  of  seed.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to 
select  the  largest,  best,  and  fairest,  for  seeding.  It  is  a  rule 
alike  applicable  to  the  vegetable  as  the  animal  tribe,  the  more 
perfect  the  parent,  the  more  perfect  you  may  expect  the  pro- 
geny to  be.  The  best  varieties  should  be  carefully  sought 
after — and  as  the  very  best  are  in  reach  of  every  culturist,  no 
one  is  in  the  least  degree  excusable  for  planting  an  inferior 
kind. 

The  after  culture  is  simple  and  easily  effected.  When  the 
plants  have  appeared  above  ground,  the  cultivator  or  horse  hoe 
is  to  be  passed  along  the  intervals.  The  object  of  this  is,  to 
remove  the  weeds  and  pulverize  the  soil.  The  work  should 
therefore  be  efficient  and  well  done.  As  it  is  advisable  for  a 
hand  to  follow  the  cultivator  with  the  common  hoe,  the  loosen- 
ed earth  may  be  lightly  drawn  around  such  plants  as  appear  to 
require  it.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three  weeks  the  same  ope- 
ration is  performed,  which  most  generally  completes  the  cul- 
ture of  the  potato,  as  they  grow  with  great  rapidity,  their 
stems  spreading  over  the  intervals  and  covering  the  entire 
ground. 

Time  of  gathering.  This  ought  to  be  done  when  the  pota- 
toes are  ripe,  and  not  before.  On  the  small  scale  the  operation 
is  performed  by  digging  them  with  the  potato-hoe,  a  pronged 
fork;  but  on  the  large  scale  it  is  performed  by  the  plough. 
The  plough,  from  which  the  coulter  has  been  previously  taken, 
is  to  pass  with  a  deep  furrow  along  the  centre  of  the  drill;  it 
then  returns  by  the  same  drill,  reversing  the  other  half  so  that 
all  the  tubers  are  turned  up.  The  potatoes  thus  turned  up, 
should  be  instantly  collected  into  baskets,  &c. 

One  matter  of  vast  importance  is  to  be  observed  in  the 
gathering  of  potatoes.  Immediately  on  being  taken  from  the 
earth,  they  should  be  placed  in  a  situation  in  which  they  are 
completely  protected  from  the  action  or  influence  of  the  sun, 
air  or  light;  and  they  should  be  housed  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible.  The  old  practice  of  suffering  them  to  remain  in 
small  heaps  in  the  field,  was  highly  injurious,  and  cannot  be 
too  strongly  reprobated.  It  was  the  fruitful  source  of  great 
complaints  against  this  valuable  root.  Potatoes  thus  exposed, 
are  invariably  watery. 

The  uses  to  which  the  potato  is  applied,  are  various — as  aa 
article  of  food  it  is  deemed  indispensable.  It  is  found  alike  on 
the  tables  of  the  rich  and  poor.     For  years  past  the  attention 

*  Letters  from  a  Father  to  a  Son — No.  xiii. 


136  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

of  farmers  has  been  directed  to  the  culture  of  potatoes  for  the 
purpose  of  feeding  stock;  but  since  the  merits  of  the  ruta-baga 
have  become  known,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar-beet  ex- 
tensively introduced — its  culture  for  this  purpose — though  it 
cannot  and  ought  not  to  be  superseded — will  be  in  a  greater 
measure  diminished.  Starch,  of  a  most  superior  quality,  is 
also  manufactured  from  the  potato. 

But  although  potatoes  may  be  given  to  live  stock  in  their 
raw  state,  and  it  is  frequently  convenient  to  give  them  in  that 
state,  yet  various  benefits  may  be  derived  from  giving  them 
steamed  or  boiled.  In  this  state  tbey  are  relished  by  every 
class  of  our  domestic  animals,  and  aflord  food  in  a  high  de- 
gree nourishing  and  salubrious.  Steamed  potatoes,  mixed  with 
cut  straw  and  hay,  may  be  given  advantageously  to  dairy 
cows,  or  any  other  kind  of  cattle;  but  it  is  thought  that  steam- 
ed food  is  not  generally  attended  with  the  same  benefit  to 
ruminating  as  to  other  animals.  To  hogs  they  are  given 
(steamed)  with  the  best  effect.  Vv^hen  poultry  is  reared  in 
quantity,  their  food  may  be  considerably  economized  by  mix- 
ing the  potato  with  meal.  An  apparatus  for  preparing  the 
potato  for  these  various  uses  by  steam  will  be  described. 

We  cannot,  probably,  do  our  readers  a  greater  service  in  this 
place,  than  by  publishing,  as  nearly  entire  as  our  limits  will 
allow,  the  statement  of  Gen.  A.  W.  Barnum,  of  Vergennes, 
Vermont,  relative  to  his  method  of  culture.  Gen.  B.  has 
been,  perhaps,  the  most  successful  cultivator  of  potatoes  in  this 
CQuntrj'. 

Preparation  for  Planting.  "Whatever  soil  mny  be  selected  for  this  purpose, 
to  ensure  a  large  crop  it  should  be  hi^'hly  matuued  with  compost  decomposed 
vegetables,  or  barn-yard  manure.  The  laiier  I  consider  preferable  when  it 
can  be  obtained  with  convenience;  if  raw  or  course  be  made  use  of,  it  should 
be  spread  immediately  before  the  first  ploughing,  on  the  same  day,  to  prevent 
the  evaporation  of  its  best  qualities,  which  will  rapidly  depart  if  left  exposed 
to  the  sun  and  atmosphere. 

The  first  should  be  deep  ploughing,  and  may  be  done  as  early  as  suits  the 
convenience  of  the  cultivator.  If  a  stiff  marl  or  clay  soil,  it  would  be  well  to 
have  it  ploughed  late  in  the  fall  previous  to  planting.  Where  compost,  or 
other  .substances  not  liable  to  fermentation,  are  intended  as  a  manure,  it  is 
better  the  spreading  should  be  omitted  until  just  before  the  last  ploughing, 
after  which  it  should  be  thoroughly  harrowed  fine  and  smooth  as  possible; 
then  take  a  narrow  light  cultivator,  or  small  plough,  calculated  for  turning  a 
deep  narrow  furrow, — with  this  instrument  lay  your  land  in  drills  twenty 
inches  asunder  and  four  inches  in  depth,  running  north  and  south  if  practica- 
ble, to  admit  the  rays  of  the  sun  to  strike  the  plant  equally  on  both  sides;  put 
into  the  bottom  of  the  furrows  or  drills  about  two  inches  of  well  rotted  barn- 
yard manure,  or  its  equivalent, — then  drop  your  potatoes.  If  of  the  common 
size,  or  what  is  more  important,  that  they  contain  about  the  usual  quantity  of 
eyes,  (if  more,  they  should  be  cut  to  prevent  too  many  stalks  shooting  up  to- 
gether,) put  a  single  potato  in  the  drills  or  trenches  ten  inches  apart;  the  first 
should  remain  uncovered  until  the  second  one  is  deposited,  to  place  them 
diagonally  in  the  drills,  which  will  afl^ord  more  space  between  the  potatoes  one 
■way  than  if  laid  at  right  angles  in  the  rows.    The  covering  may  be  performed 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  137 

with  a  hoe,  first  hauling  in  the  furrow  raised  on  each  side  of  the  drill;  then 
carefully  take  from  the  centre  of  the  space  the  soil  to  finish  the  covering  to  the 
depth  of  three  and  a  half  or  four  inches.  By  taking  the  earth  from  the  centre 
of  the  space  on  either  side  to  the  width  of  three  inches,  it  will  leave  a  drain 
of  six  inches  in  the  centre  of  the  space,  and  a  hill  of  fourteen  inches  in  width, 
gently  descending  from  the  drill  to  the  drain;  the  width  and  depth  of  the  drill 
will  be  sutficient  to  protect  the  plant  against  any  injurious  eflecls  of  a  scorch- 
ing sun  or  drenching  rain.  The  drains  in  the  centre  will  at  all  times  be  found 
sufficient  to  admit  the  surplus  water  to  pass  ofi".  I  am  not  at  all  tenacious 
about  the  instrument  to  be  made  use  of  for  opening  the  trenches  to  receive  the 
manure  and  potatoes;  this  work  should  be  well  done,  and  may  be  performed 
with  a  common  hoe  with  much  uniformity  and  accuracy,  by  stretching  a  line 
to  direct  the  operation.  It  is  true  that  the  labour  cannot  be  performed  with 
the  same  facility  as  with  a  horse;  but  it  can  be  better  done,  and  I  think  at  less 
expense,  taking  into  consideration  the  labour  of  the  man  to  hold,  the  boy  to 
ride,  and  the  horse  to  draw  the  machine. 

Dressing,  Hoeing,  <f  c.  When  the  plant  makes  its  appearance  above  the  sur- 
face, the  following  mixture  may  be  used:  For  each  acre  take  one  bushel  of 
■plaster  and  two  bushels  of  good  ashes,  and  sow  it  broadcast  as  even  as  possible. 
A  moist  day  is  preferable  for  this  operation;  for  want  of  it,  a  still  evening  will 
do.  I  consider  this  mixture  decidedly  more  beneficial  and  much  safer  than 
plaster  or  ashes  alone.  The  alkali  and  nitre  contained  in  the  ashes  loses  none 
of  its  fertilizing  qualities  in  a  moist  season,  and  the  invaluable  properties  of 
the  ^tester  are  fully  developed  in  a  dry  one,  by  decomposing  the  atmosphere 
and  retaining  to  a  much  later  period  in  the  morning  the  moisture  of  the  even- 
ing dews.  There  are  but  few  plants  in  our  country  that  receive  so  great  a 
share  of  their  nourishment  from  the  atmosphere  as  the  potato.  The  time  for 
dressing  or  hoeing  will  be  found  diflicult  to  describe,  and  must  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  cultivator.  It  should,  however,  in  all  climates,  be  done  as 
early  as  the  first  buds  for  blossoms  make  their  appearance. 

The  operation  of  hilling  should  be  performed  once  and  once  only  during  the 
season.  If  repeated  after  the  potato  is  formed,  it  will  cause  young  shoots  to 
spring  up,  which  retards  the  growth  of  the  potato  and  diminishes  its  size.  If 
weeds  spring  up  at  any  time,  they  should  be  kept  down  by  the  hand  or  hoe, 
which  can  be  done  without  disturbing  the  growing  stalk. 

My  manner  oi hoeing  or  hilling  is  not  to  haul  in  the  earth  from  the  spaces 
between  the  hills  or  rows,  but  to  bring  on  fresh  earth  sufficient  to  raise  the  hill 
around  the  plant  one  and  a  half  or  two  inches;  in  a  wet  season  the  lesser  quan- 
tity will  be  sufficient, — in  a  dry  one  the  larger  will  not  be  found  too  much. 
The  substance  for  this  purpose  may  consist  of  the  scrapings  of  ditches  or  filthy 
streets — the  earth  from  a  barn-yard  that  requires  levelling — where  convenient 
it  may  be  taken  from  swamps,  marshes,  the  beds  and  banks  of  rivers,  or  small 
sluggish  streams  at  low  water.  If  planted  on  a  clay  soil,  fresh  loam  taken  at 
any  depth  from  the  surface,  even  if  it  partakes  largely  of  fine  sand,  will  be 
found  an  excellent  top  dressing.  If  planted  on  a  loamy  soil,  the  earth  taken 
from  clay-pits,  clay  or  slaty  soil,  M'ill  answer  a  valuable  purpose.  In  fact, 
there  are  but  few  farms  in  the  country  but  what  may  be  furnished  with  some 
suitable  substance  for  top  dressing  if  sought  for.  The  hoeing  and  hilling  may 
be  performed  with  facility  by  the  aid  of  a  horse  and  carl;  the  horse  travelling 
in  the  centre  of  a  space  between  the  drills — the  cart  wheels  occupying  the  two 
adjoining  ones — thereby  avoiding  any  disturbance  or  injury  to  the  growing 
plants.  The  time  for  collecting  the  top  dressing  may  be  regulated  by  the  far- 
mer's own  convenience,  the  earlier  the  better,  deposited  in  large  piles  in  or 
near  the  potato  field,  in  the  most  suitable  place  for  distribution. 

I  have  frequently  tried  bed-planting,  (or  planting  in  beds,)  with  uniform 
success.  On  moist  lands,  in  a  stiffor  heavy  soil,  I  consider  it  preferable  to  any 
other  mode.  To  do  it  properly,  lay  your  land  in  beds  of  from  ten  to  twenty 
feet  in  width,  raised  in  the  centre  with  a  plough  by  back  furrowing,  after  the 
last  harrowing,  which  should  be  thoroughly  done,  is  performed,  and  left 
crowning  with  a  gradual  descent  from  the  centre  to  the  alleys.  The  proper 
width  and  height  of  the  beds  must  depend  on  the  situation  of  the  land,  and 
may  be  regulated  by  the  judgment  of  the  cultivator.     In  clearing  the  alleys, 

12* 


138  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

which  need  not  exceed  sixteen  or  eighteen  inches  in  width,  the  labourer  should 
stretch  two  lines  the  proper  distance  on  each  side  the  alley,  and  throw  upon 
the  beds  with  a  shovel  the  earth  necessary  to  be  removed. 

The  use  of  lines  may  be  by  some  considered  a  useless  expenditure  of  labour. 
Not  so — the  regularity  and  neatness  of  appearance  will  be  an  abundant  remu- 
neration for  the  trifling  time  occupied  in  stretching  the  lines. 

After  the  land  is  prepared  for  planting,  strike  it  out  in  drills  or  trenches,  as 
before  directed,  twelve  inches  asunder;  in  these  drills  drop  the  potatoes  twelve 
inches  apart,  (diagonally,)  to  be  covered,  hoed,  dressed,  and  managed  in  the 
same  manner  as  in  field  culture,  with  the  exception  of  making  a  drain  in  the 
spaces  between  the  drills,  which  is  unnecessary,  and  should  be  avoided.  In 
filling  the  trenches,  dressing,  &c.,  the  horse-cart  must  be  dispensed  with,  and  a 
hand-cart  or  wheel-barrow  substituted. 

In  recommending  the  drills  north  and  south  in  field  planting,  I  did  not  wish 
to  be  understood  that  other  more  valuable  considerations  should  be  abandoned 
for  this  practice;  it  is  desirable  it  should  be  so  where  the  level  or  moderate  de- 
scent of  the  land  will  admit  of  it,  but  if  too  steep  and  liable  to  wash,  care 
should  be  taken  to  avoid  this  evil  by  running  the  drills  in  such  direction  as 
may  be  required  to  maintain  a  proper  descent,  even  if  it  should  be  necessary 
to  run  them  in  curved  lines,  or  wind  around  a  steep  hill  to  preserve  the  re- 
quired descent  to  admit  the  surplus  water  to  pass  otf. 

In  communicating  ray  experim.enls  to  some  of  my  neighbouring  farmers, 
who  are  always  in  a  hurry,  and  run  over  with  the  plough  two  acres  of  land  in 
half  the  time  required  to  do  justice  to  one,  their  reply  generally  is,  that  my 
tedious  mode  of  cultivating  has  too  much  piddli7ig  and  small  labour  for  their 
patience,  and  persist  in  their  accustomed  manner  of  half  ploughing,  half  plant- 
ing and  half  hoeing  five  acres  of  good  land,  and  not  obtain  more  potatoes  than 
one,  properly  cultivated,  would  produce,  thereby  losing  half  their  labour  and 
seed,  besides  the  use  of  four  acres  of  their  best  land,  which  might  be  convert- 
ed to  other  valuable  purposes. 

I  should  think  that  intelligent  farmers,  by  a  little  reflection,  would  perceive 
the  folly  of  pursuing  the  usual  wasteful  practice  of  planting  potatoes  in  rows 
and  hills  four  feet  asunder,  leaving  four  fifths  of  their  land  unimproved,  and 
subject  to  a  rapid  waste  of  its  most  fertilizing  qualities,  by  being  nakedly  ex- 
posed to  the  washing  of  drenching  rains,  and  the  evaporation  of  the  atmo- 
sphere; and  after  all  their  labour,  may  consider  themselves  fortunate  if  they 
obtain  two  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre,  which  exceeds  the  average  yield  iii 
this  section  of  country.  By  pursuing  the  course  I  have  recommended,  in 
ordinary  seasons,  on  a  good  soil,  vou  may  rationally  calculate  on  a  crop  of 
from  eight  to  twelve  hundred  bushes  to  the  acre. 

To  such  farmers  as  complain  of  my  tedious  and  piddling  mode  of  culture, 
Ihave  only  to  remark,  if  they  wiW  jnddlc  their  land  in  the  same  manner,  even 
if  they  waste  half  their  crop,  they  will  find  themselves  richly  rewarded  for 
their  whole  labour  in  the  benefits  "they  derive  by  this  preparation  in  succeed- 
ing crops.  I  would  al.so  add,  that  I  believe  it  is  generally  acknowledged,  that 
rotation  in  most  kinds  of  crops  is  desirable,  but  none  more  necessary  than 
potatoes;  even  a  second  crop  on  the  same  ground  well  prepared,  will  be  found 
to  degenerate  in  quality  and  quantity. 

Location.  The  district  of  country  in  North  America  best  adapted  to  their 
growth,  taking  into  consideration  quantity  and  quality,  is  situated  between  the 
2nd  and  10th  degrees  of  east  longitude,  (from  Washington,)  and  between  the 
4"2nd  and  50th  degrees  of  north  latitude.  They  are  grown  to  a  very  consider- 
able extent  much  farther  north,  south  and  west,  but  in  diminished  quantities 
and  inferior  qualities. 

Soil.  A  rich  marl  or  clay  is  perhaps  the  most  productive;  a  strong  moist 
loamy  soil,  (the  newer  or  less  it  has  been  cultivated  the  better,)  is  the  most  con- 
venient and  least  expensive  soil  to  grow  them  on.  Most  soils  common  to  our 
country  will  produce  them  in  great  abundance  and  perfection;  the  more  rapid 
the  growth,  the  better  the  quality. 

Season  and  Planting.  In  this  respect  they  are  a  most  accommodating  crop, 
allowing  the  farmer  in  the  southern  and  central  part  of  the  designated  district 
twenty  or  thirty  da3's  to  perform  the  operation.     The  particular  time  depends 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  139 

in  a  very  considerable  degree  upon  the  climate.  In  the  region  of  my  residence 
(the  44th  degree  of  north  latitude,)  they  may  be  planted  from  the  10th  of  May 
to  the  151  h  of  June.  At  the  extreme  north  of  the  described  limits  less  latitude 
is  afforded  for  seed  time  and  harvest.  The  good  husbandman  in  that  climate 
should  make  all  practicable  preparation  for  his  crop  in  the  fall,  and  plant  as 
early  in  the  spring  as  the  ground  is  sufficiently  dry  and  warm.  Here  the 
growth  is  extremely  rapid,  not  requiring  more  than  from  ninety  to  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  days  to  perfect  it.  The  quantity  will  not  be  quite  so  great  as 
■with  us,  but  superior  in  quality. 

KiJid  of  seed  to  be  plaiUed.  This  is  a  question  of  too  much  difficulty  for  me 
to  answer  satisfactorily  to  myself,  or  instructive  to  the  numerous  inquiries  of 
my  correspondents;  the  kinds  and  qualities  in  a  single  neighbourhood  are  too 
numerous  and  their  names  too  local  and  variable  to  admit  of  an  intelligent 
reply.  The  female  of  this  plant,  (like  most  of  her  sex,)  is  so  jealous  of  her 
rights  and  privileges,  and  so  tenacious  of  cultivating  a  friendly  intercourse 
and  connection  with  her  neighbours,  that  the  blossoms  in  fields  at  two  hun- 
dred yards  distance,  planted  of  different  kinds  of  seed,  are  frequently  found 
contributing  liberally  with  each  other,  (by  the  aid  of  a  gentle  breeze,)  a  por- 
tion of  their  generating  farina,  which  is  generously  received  and  kindly 
nourished.  The  product  of  this  connection  strongly  partaking  of  the  proper- 
ties and  appearance  of  both,  many  of  them  in  apparent  equal  parts.  Plant 
this  mixture  a  few  years  in  a  place  of  safety,  and  it  will  be  found  that  the 
■weaker  plant  will  gradually  yield  to  the  stronger,  until  the  one  most  produc- 
tive and  best  suited  to  the  climate  will  be  produced  in  its  original  and  unadul- 
terated purity.  The  fact  goes  far  in  satisfying  me  of  the  cause  of  our  fre- 
quent disappointment  in  not  finding  seed  at  all  times  producing  its  kind.  We 
have  abundant  means,  with  a  little  care  and  patience,  of  supplying  ourselves 
with  every  variety  of  potatoes,  the  growth  of  which  is  adapted  to  our  climate. 

The  wise  Provider  of  all  good  things  has  kindly  furnished  us  with  the 
means  of  providing  ourselves  with  innumerable  kinds  and  qualities  of  this 
vegetable.  The  ripe  balls  or  seeds  from  a  single  stalk,  will  produce  by  three 
seasons'  planting  almost  countless  varieties  of  every  colour,  shape,  size  and 
quality,  which  the  country  has  heretofore  produced,  and  something  new  in  ad- 
dition. The  first  season's  planting  they  will  be  stnall  and  tender,  the  second 
larger,  and  the  third  of  suitable  size  for  field  planting.  The  only  answer  I 
can  give  to  the  inquiry  for  the  right  kind  of  seed,  is  to  recommend  to  the  far- 
mer that  kind  to  be  procured  in  the  vicinity  most  productive,  except  a  small 
quantity,  if  he  possesses  them,  of  a  superior  quality  for  table  use.  In  chang- 
ing seed,  which  will  occasionally  be  found  beneficial,  if  removed  from  any 
considerable  distance,  should  be  taken  from  the  north:  the  growth  will  be 
more  rapid,  consequently  the  quality  belter,  and  in  southern  climates  the  quan- 
tity greater  for  the  first  season  at  least. 

Time  for  gathering.  This  ought  to  be  done  when  the  potato  is  ripe,  and 
not  before.  The  idea  so  generally  entertained,  that  an  early  frost  which  nips 
the  to"p  and  destroys  the  vine  prevents  the  further  growth  of  the  potato,  is  a 
mistaken  one,  and  ought  to  be  exploded.  On  the  contrary,  if  it  has  not  at  this 
time  attained  its  full  size  and  weight,  it  grows  more  rapidly;  the  nourishment 
required  for  sustaining  the  top  is  transferred  to  the  root,  t'rom  a  knowledge 
of  this  fact,  satisfactorily  tested,  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  that  by  clipping  the 
bushy  part  of  the  top  with  a  scythe  or  other  instrument,  after  the  ball  has  at- 
tained its  full  size,  the  crop  would  be  greatly  benefitted  by  the  operation.  I 
have  made  a  few  experiments  of  this  kind,  all  tending  to'confirin  my  belief, 
but  not  sufiicienl  to  warrant  me  in  making  the  broad  unqualified  assertion  of 
the  positive  correctness  of  my  opinion.  I  hope  agriculturists,  in  different, sec- 
tions of  the  country,  will  lend  a  helping  hand  to  aid  in  testing  the  correctness 
or  incorrectness  of  my  doctrine  in  this  particular.  The  green  tops  are  excel- 
lent food  for  cattle  or  swine;  if  left  on  the  field  will  produce  no  injury,  but 
serve  to  enrich  the  soil. 

Housing  and  Wintering.  The  erroneous  practice  pursued  by  our  best  far- 
mers generally,  induces  me  to  state  the  manner  I  have  pursued  for  years  with 
unvaried  success.  To  preserve  five  or  six  hundred  bushels,  I  make  a  box  or 
bin  four  feet  wide,  three  feet  high,  and  sufficient  length  to  contain  the  required 


240  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

quantity. — have  the  joints  well  fastened  and  made  as  tight  as  possible — put 
into  the  cellar  on  skids,  raising  it  three  or  four  inches  from  the  cellar  bottom. 
If  the  potatoes  are  intended  to  be  taken  out  at  different  times,  two  or  three 
partitions  should  be  put  in  crosswise  of  the  bin,  to  prevent  such  as  are  not  re- 
quired for  immediate  use  from  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  After  this  prepa- 
ration is  completed,  the  next  operation  is  gathering  and  housing  them.  Here 
I. must  again  dissent  from  the  usual  practice  of  farmers  generally.  Instead  of 
leaving  them  in  the  sun  and  wind  to  dry,  after  digging,  in  small  parcels,  in 
carts  or  heaps,  they  should  be  immediately  covered  with  the  tops,  or  some- 
thing else,  even  if  they  remain  in  the  field  but  a  few  hours.  This  destructive 
practice  I  think  must  be  entirely  attributable  to  want  of  reflection.  It  is  the 
sole  cause  which  produces  the  evil  so  much  complained  of,  by  us  called  the 
watery  potato — by  the  Irish  the  winded  potato — destroying  not  only  the 
flavour,  bat  a  great  portion  of  the  nutriment.  In  fact,  sun,  wind  and  rain  are 
as  destructive  to  a  new  dug  potato,  as  moonlight  is  to  a  fresh  caught  fish. 
When  your  potatoes  are  removed  to  the  cellar,  put  into  the  bottom  of  the  bin 
two  inches  of  fresh  earth;  then  fill  one  apartment  with  potatoes,  within  three 
or  four  inches  of  the  top — immediately  cover  it  with  tough  grass  turf,  cut  up 
with  the  spade  a  little  dove-tailing,  to  the  thickness  of  three  or  four  inches, 
cover  them  with  the  turf,  grass  side  up,  packed  close  and  pounded  down  with 
a  wooden  maul,  to  exclude  as  much  air  as  possible.  In  this  manner,  in  a  cel- 
lar of  suitable  temperature,  they  may  be  kept  fresh  and  good  for  a  year  with- 
out germinating.  No  danger  is  to  be  apprehended  of  having  too  much  dirt 
stick  to  the  potatoes — it  assists  in  preserving  them.  An  occasional  sprinkling 
of  fresh  earth  among  them  will  be  found  serviceable. 


2.    THE  SWEET  POTATO. 

The  sweet  potato  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the  West 
Indies.  It  was  introduced  into  many  parts  of  Europe,  tiirough 
Spain,  soon  after  the  discovery  of  America,  and  is,  most  proba- 
bly, the  species  spoken  of  by  all  those  ancient  writers  who 
allude  to  it  under  the  name  of  battatas.  They  were  carried 
from  Spain  to  England;  these  were  called  the  Spanish  sweet 
potato.  In  15S6,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  on  his  return  from 
Carolina,  introduced  their  culture  into  Ireland.*  Its  true 
botanical  name  is  convolvolus  battatas. 

The  sweet  potato  cannot  be  cultivated  to  any  extent  or 
profit  north  of  the  41st  degree  of  latitude.  In  the  lower  coun- 
ties of  New  Jersey,  and  in  the  southern  states,  it  flourishes 
luxuriantly.  It  delights  in  a  mellow  sandy  soil,  and  the  richer 
the  better. 

This  excellent  vegetable  would  be  more  extensively  cultivated  but  for  the 
great  labour  of  planting  and  cultivating  them  in  the  usual  mode,  and  for  the 
difficulty  of  keeping  them  in  the  winter. 

To  obviate  the  first  difficulty,  I  have,  for  about  twenty  years,  ceased  making 
hills  altogether,  and  planted  in  ridges.  I  break  up  the  ground  well,  and  if  ne- 
cessary, harrow  it — then  with  a  barshear  or  cary  plough,  throw  three  furrows 
together.     To  complete  the  ridge,  take  a  weeding  hoe  or  fine  rake,  and  draw 

*  By  some  writers  it  is  said  to  be  a  native  of  the  east,  and  to  have  been  very 
early  scattered  throughout  all  southern  Europe.  Others,  with  perhaps  more 
propriety,  insist  upon  its  West  India  origin,  allege  that  it  was  taken  thence  to 
the  Philippian  Islands,  and  afterwards  dispersed  over  Asia  and  Europe. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  141 

the  dirt  up  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other,  to  about  the  height  potato 
hills  are  usually  made.  Open  a  trench  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  and  drop  the 
slips  five  or  six  inches  apart,  cover  with  the  hand  about  two  inches  deep. 

This  mode  is  attended  with  several  advantages— requiring  less  ground,  less 
labour  ia  preparing  the  ground,  less  in  cutting  the  seed  roots,  less  in  bending 
ridges  than  hills,  and  greatly  less  than  digging.  The  last  operation  is  done 
mostly  with  the  plough.  After  clearing  off  the  vines  run  a  furrow  along  the 
ridge,  taking  down  about  two-fifths  on  one  side,  return  and  throw  oif  as  much 
on  the  other  side,  leaving  about  one-fifth  in  the  middle,  nearly  full  of  potatoes, 
■which  can  be  easily  torn  to  pieces  with  the  hand.  A  hoe  will  be  necessary  to 
move  the  dirt  thrown  out  by  the  plough,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  picking  out  of 
the  potatoes. 

This  mode  of  cultivating  and  taking  up  the  crop,  reduces  the  labour  in  my 
estimation  nearly  one-half. 

To  obviate  the  difliculty  as  to  keeping,  I  put  my  potatoes  in  a  garner  in  the 
cellar,  putting  chaff  or  dry  dirt  around  and  on  them — put  them  up  the  same 
day  they  are  dug.  When  freezing  weather  comes  on,  close  the  cellar  win- 
dows. 'In  this  way  I  had  sweet  potatoes  for  the  table  throughout  the  last  cold 
winter. 

Plant  about  the  first  of  April,  and  be  sure  to  dig  after  the  first  frost  hard 
enough  to  bile  the  leaves. 


in.    THE  TURNIP. 

English  Turnip  and  JRuta-Baga. 

<'It  would  have  been  perhaps  more  consistent  with  due 
order  in  the  arrangement  of  a  work  on  husbandry,  to  have 
commenced  with  the  cultivation  of  turnips — as  the  foundation 
of  an  alternate  system  of  tillage — rather  than  with  the  growth 
of  grain;  and  had  we  undertaken  to  direct  the  practical  manage- 
ment of  any  one  farm,  we  should  have  adopted  that  plan."* 

It  should,  however,  be  borne  in  mind,  that,  although  we 
furnish  the  best  details  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  regard- 
ing the  culture  of  crops,  yet  we  only  profess  to  treat  of  them 
separately;  leaving  the  reader  to  judge  for  himself  of  the  best 
course  of  cropping,  according  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  his 
land. 

The  turnip  is  said  to  be  a  native  of  the  sea-coast  of  the  north 
of  Europe,  where  they  are  found  growing  spontaneously. 
There  are  several  species,  and  numerous  varieties  of  the  tur- 
nip; but  those  which  specially  require  our  attention,  are — 1. 
The  common  turnip.  2,  The  Swedish  turnip,  or  ruta-baga. 
The  turnip  culture  was  introduced  into  England  about  two 
centuries  since,  b}''  Secretary  Townsend.  It  was  bitterly  op- 
posed by  the  British  fajmers;  but  he  faultered  not  in  the  good 
work,  but  persevered  and  lived  to  witness  a  complete  revolu- 
tion, and  the  almost  universal  culture  of  the  despised  turnip, 

*  Farmers'  Series,  Library  of  Useful  Knowledge,  p.  231. 


142  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

throughout  the  kingdom.  The  ruta-baga  is  of  recent  intro- 
duction. 

Turnips  and  clover  are  now  the  two  main  pillars  of  British 
husbandry.  They  have  contributed  more  to  augment  and  in- 
crease the  fertility  of  the  soil  for  producing  grain — to  enlarge 
and  improve  the  breeds  of  cattle  and  sheep — and  to  afford  a 
regular  supply  of  butchers'  meat  throughout  the  year,  than  all 
other  crops  combined. 

The  soil,  preparation  of  the  ground,  mode  of  culture,  and 
general  management  of  the  common  turnip  and  the  ruta-baga, 
are  in  all  respects  similar.  They  both  require  a  very  finely 
pulverized  soil,  which  is  accomplished  only  by  repeated  plough- 
ings  and  harrowings,  as  hereafter  described.  In  all  cases  w'here 
the  crop  is  intended  to  be  followed  by  wheat,  the  land  should 
be  well  manured  previously  to  the  first  ploughing. 

Soils.  The  soils  suited  to  this  crop  are  of  the  lighter  kind; 
they  are  grown  on  all  comparatively  dry  soils,  including  the 
loams,  and  under  almost  all  the  variations  of  climate.  Their 
cultivation  on  cold  and  tenacious  clays  cannot  be  recommended. 
The  more  preferable  soils  are  those  which  grow  good  Indian 
corn. 

Preparation  of  the  soil.  With  us,  though  there  are  many 
exceptions,  turnips  are  generally  a  second  crop.  The  land  is 
ploughed  with  a  deep  furrow  immediately  after  harvest,  usually 
in  the  direction  of  the  former  ridges,  that  if  the  soil  be  dry,  it 
is  of  little  consequence  in  what  direction.  All  the  weed-roots, 
&c.,  brought  to  the  surface,  are  carefully  gathered  into  heaps, 
and  either  burnt  on  the  ground,  or  carried  ofi"  to  form  a  com- 
post, usually  with  lime.  The  land  is  generally  ploughed  and 
harrowed  again,  if  considered  necessary,  and  all  the  weeds 
brought  to  the  surface  are  removed  as  before.  Loose  stones, 
and  all  obstacles  to  good  tillage,  are  to  be  removed. 

If  the  drill  culture  is  intended  the  land  is  again  ploughed, 
harrowed  and  rolled,  and  any  weeds  disengaged  are  collected 
and  taken  off.  It  is  then  generally  well  pulverized,  and  in  a 
fit  condition  to  be  formed  into  drills.  If  this  should  not  be  so, 
the  same  operation  of  ploughing,  harrowing,  and  gathering  of 
weeds  is  to  be  repeated,  until  the  ground  is  cleared  of  injurious 
roots,  and  reduced  to  a  pliable  state.*  The  drills  are  then 
formed.  The  distances  vary  from  twenty-seven  to  thirty-six 
inches — thirty  inches  is  a  good  distance.  The  intervals  should 
be  wide  enough  to  admit  of  after  culture  by  the  cultivator. 

•  The  writer  is  fully  aware  that  this  process  will  be  objected  to  as  too  ex- 
pensive, troublesome  and  laborious.  But  all  is  abundantly  made  up  in  the 
increase  of  the  crop,  and  more  especially  in  the  fine  stale  of  improvement  in 
which  it  leaves  the  soil. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  I43 

Manuring.  Different  kinds  of  manure,  as  well  as  various 
modes  of  application,  are  used.  Some  spread  the  manure  evenly 
over  the  land,  before  ploughing;  others  deposit  it  in  the  inter- 
vals or  drills.  Of  well  prepared  barn-yard  or  compost  manure, 
a  liberal  supply  is  necessary,  as  the  goodness  of  the  crop  will 
depend  upon  the  fertility  communicated  to  the  soil.  The  ma- 
nures suitable  to  the  turnip  are  applicable  to  all  the  other  root 
crops.  Lime,  street-sweepings,  sea-weed,  bone-dust,  plaster, 
ashes,  &c.,  are  all  used  in  the  drill  system.  These  are  sown  in 
the  drills. 

Sowing.  The  old  plan  of  sowing  broadcast  is  now  nearly 
abandoned,  and  the  drill  barrow,  which  is  an  admirable  instru- 
ment, is  almost  universally  used  in  the  sowing  of  root  crops. 
The  advantages  arising  from  the  use  of  this  implement  are,  the 
seeding  is  performed  expeditiously  and  with  great  regularity. 
The  land  being  prepared;  as  previously  described,  the  machine 
lays  out  the  drills,  drops  the  seed  in  the  fresh  earth,  covers,  and 
rolls  it  down  immediately,  by  which  means  the  seed  will  gene- 
rally germinate  several  days  earlier,  than  when  planted  in  the 
old  way. 

The  time  of  solving  varies  according  to  circumstances,  season 
and  climate.  From  the  middle  to  the  last  of  July  is  the  usual 
time;  some  sow  as  late  as  the  12th  of  August.  When  sown 
broadcast,  a  quart  of  seed  is  sufficient  for  an  acre;  and  when 
sown  in  this  manner,  the  field  may  be  passed  over  by  the  har- 
row as  soon  as  the  turnips  have  attained  the  size  of  walnuts. 
Though  many  of  the  plants  will  be  displaced,  the  crop  will  be 
vastly  benefitted  by  the  operation.*  When  sown  by  the  drill 
machine  a  pint  of  seed  is  abundant.  It  is  generally  considered 
that  late  sown  turnips  are  much  the  best  for  the  table,  and  that 
they  are  less  liable  to  disease  and  the  ravages  of  insects,  if  sown 
late,  than  when  sown  early  in  the  season. 

After  culture.  In  the  after  culture  of  the  turnip,  as  well  as 
all  other  root  crops,  the  cultivator  cannot  be  dispensed  with. 
It  is,  as  soon  as  the  young  plants  show  themselves  above 
ground,  to  be  passed  along  the  intervals,  pulverizing  the  earth, 
and  removing  the  weeds.  At  the  second  operation  a  hand  fol- 
lows with  the  turnip-hoe,  the  drills  are  to  be  well  cleansed  and 
the  plants  thinned;  the  proper  distance  between  the  plants  is 
eight  to  twelve  inches.  The  distance  between  the  plants,  it 
should  be  remembered,  must  be  regulated  according  to  the 
strength  of  the  land,  the  time  of  sowing,  and  the  kind  culti- 
vated— strong  ground  aid  early  sowing,  always  producing  the 
largest  roots.     The  width  of  the  hoe  should  be  in  proportion 

♦  E.  P.  Roberts,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore. 


144  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

to  the  medium  distance  to  be  left  between  the  plants;  and  the 
distance  should  be  according  to  their  expected  size.  Sometimes 
the  cultivator  passes  again  along  the  intervals,  but  more  fre- 
quently the  hand-hoeing,  just  referred  to,  concludes  the  pro- 
cess; the  weeds  being  now  kept  down  by  the  rapid  growth  of 
the  plants,  and  the  overshadowing  of  the  intervals  by  the 
leaves. 

Harvesting  is  postponed  as  long  as  the  season  will  permit. 
The  roots  are  pulled  by  hand,  laid  on  the  ground,  the  tops  of 
the  two  rows  facing  each  other.  A  hand  following  with  a  bill- 
hook, with  a  light  blow  separates  the  tops  from  the  roots  as 
rapidly  as  three  or  four  persons  can  pull  them.  Three  men 
will,  in  this  way,  harvest,  of  a  good  crop,  three  hundred 
bushels  per  day.*  The  tops  are  gathered  into  heaps  and  taken 
to  the  barn-yard  in  carts  daily  for  the  stock,  until  they  are  con- 
sumed. 

There  are  various  methods  adopted  of  storing  turnips.  The 
Genesee  Farmer  recommends  pits  to  be  dug  in  the  field  where 
they  are  raised,  limited  to  two  feet  in  width,  of  an  indefinite 
length,  and  not  more  than  two  feet  deep.  But  it  is  all-important 
that  the  soil  and  sub-soil  of  the  place  where  the  pit  is  sunk,  be 
lights  and  dry.  They  may  be  buried  in  almost  any  soil,  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  their  culture.  The  turnips  are  stored  by  hand, 
and  require  great  care,  and  should  terminate  in  a  ridge  about 
eighteen  inches  above  the  ground. 

The  crown  of  the  ridge  is  then  to  be  pierced  with  an  iron 
bar,  at  intervals  of  about  a  yard,  into  which  a  wisp  of  straw 
may  be  inserted,  so  as  to  let  off  the  rarified  air;  otherwise  the 
roots  will  heat,  and  the  rarified  air  not  being  permitted  to 
escape,  the  turnips  are  apt  to  rot.  For  want  of  this  precaution 
many  crops  have  been  nearly  lost.  No  danger  need  be  feared 
from  the  admission  of  frost  to  the  roots  through  these  open- 
ings. Tlie  best  way  is  to  store  them  in  barns,  or  in  cellars. 
They  must  always  be  guarded  against  frost. 

Yield.  The  amount  of  produce  per  acre  varies  according  to 
the  soil,  good  or  bad  tillage,  and  other  circumstances.  Six 
hundred  bushels  of  the  common  or  English  turnip  are  gene- 
rally considered  as  a  good  crop — but  heavier  crops  are  fre- 
quently raised.  The  Farmers'  Cabinet,  vol.  iii.  p.  17,  gives, 
on  the  best  authority,  eight  hundred  and  fifty-two  bushels  to 
the  acre.  The  ruta-baga,  with  proper  care,  yields  large  crops — 
on  an  average,  and  with  the  same  treatment,  one-third  more 
than  the  common  turnip.  Numerous^instances  are  on  record 
of  from  twelve  to  sixteen  hundred  bushels  being  raised  to  the 

*  Judge  BuEL.    Complete  Farmer,  p.  266. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  145 

acre;  these  cases  have  received  special  attention  in  the  after 
culture  as  well  as  in  the  preparation  of  the  ground;  the  drills 
were  about  two  feet  apart.  Since  the  general  introduction  of 
the  ruta-baga,  the  cultivation  of  the  common  turnip,  as  a  field 
crop  for  the  use  of  cattle,  has  declined.  But  no  good  farmer 
will  give  up  entirely  the  culture  of  one  for  the  other,  as  a  change 
is  not  only  agreeable  but  beneficial  to  cattle  and  sheep. 

Use.  We  all  know  their  value  as  a  table  vegetable.  The 
tops  serve  as  food  for  cattle  in  autumn;  and  in  winter  they  are 
fed  to  cattle.  They  are  cut  by  an  implement  with  four  blades 
into  as  many  pieces — other  implements  are  also  used.  They 
are  excellent  for  sheep,  especially  for  ewes  that  have  young. 
They  are  very  nutritious,  and  excellent  for  fattening  stock. 
Judge  BuEL  says,  "a  bullock  will  thrive  fast  upon  two  bushels 
a  day,  and  will  consume  hardly  any  hay,  and  requires  no 
drink."* 

Obtaining  varieties.  The  turnip  is  sometimes  cultivated 
for  its  seeds  for  sowing,  and  by  careful  selection  varieties  of 
the  plant  may  not  only  be  multiplied,  but  greatly  improved. 
A  manner  of  procuring  a  good  variety  of  turnip  is  to  select  the 
largest  and  best  formed  turnips,  with  the  smallest  tops,  and 
plant  them  in  rows,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  any  plants 
of  the  same  family.  They  will  flower,  and  when  the  pods  are 
formed,  they  are  to  be  guarded  against  the  depredation  of  birds. 
When  the  seeds  are  matured,  the  stems  are  to  be  cut  down  and 
well  dried,  the  seeds  separated  from  the  pods,  and  carefully 
preserved  for  future  use. 

The  diseases  and  accidents  to  which  this  plant  is  subject 
are  very  numerous.  It  is  liable  to  a  kind  of  blight.  But  its 
most  fatal  enemy  is  the  fly.  No  effectual  remedy  for  either 
has  as  yet  been  discovered.  It  does  not  suffer  now,  however, 
as  much  as  in  years  past — and  the  crops  have  never  been  as 
seriously  affected  in  this  country  as  in  England. 

The  following  is  a  statement  from  Rev.  Henry  Colman, 
one  of  the  first  farmers  of  New  England,  and  at  this  time  Com- 
missioner for  Superintending  the  Agricultural  Survey  of  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  of  his  method  of  raising  the  ruta-baga 
or  Swedish  turnip. 

Gentlemen — Accompanying  this  you  have  the  certificates  of  a  crop  of  ruta- 
baga raised  this  year  (1830)  on  my  farm  in  Lynn.  From  these  it  will  appear 
that  on  an  acre,  measured  by  a  sworn  surveyor,  on  one  side  of  the  field,  there 
were  gathered  seven  hundred  and  forty-one  baskets  full;  and  that  fort}^  baskets 
of  the  above  named  weighed  at  the  town  scales  two  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  net  weight.     This,  allowing  fifty-six  pounds  to  a  bushel,  the 

*  The  results  of  a  most  inleresling  experiment  in  the  culture  of  the  common 
turnip,  is  very  m.inutely  detailed  by  Mr,  Samuel  W.  Sauth.  See  Appendix  B, 
13 


146  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

standard  weight  assumed  by  the  society,  'would  give  a  crop  of  nine  hundred 
and  three  bushels  to  the  acre. 

The  turnips  were  planted  on  the  29th  of  June  and  2nd  of  July;  about  one 
pound  and  a  half  of  seed  was  used  for  the  acre;  and  they  were  gathered  and 
stored  in  cellars  and  in  the  barn  in  the  last  part  of  Novetnber. 

The  ground  on  which  they  grew  is  a  good  soil,  neither  wet  nor  dry,  and  bore 
the  last  year  an  abundant  crop  of  onions,  and  com  the  year  preceding  the 
last.  It  was  well  manured  at  both  times,  and  in  fine  tilth.  It  was  manured 
with  at  lear>t  six  cords  to  the  acre  of  barn  manure  the  last  spring,  and  sowed 
again  to  onions;  but  the  seed  entirely  failing,  it  was  ploughed,  harrowed, 
farrows  struck  out,  and  about  eight  cords  of  barn  manure  spread  in  the  fur- 
rows; ploughed  again  so  as  by  a  back  furrow  to  form  a  ridge  over  the  manure, 
and  the  seed  sown  with  a  small  drill-harrow  on  the  ridges,  making  the  rows 
about  tweni\'  inches  asimder.  As  soon  as  the  plants  were  of  sufficient  size,  a 
drill-harrow,  with  small  shares  fixed  to  it,  to  cut  olTall  the  weeds,  was  passed 
through  the  rows;  and  the  plants  thinned  with  a  small  weeding  hoe  to  the  dis- 
tance of  about  eight  inches  apart,  and  the  vacant  places  filled  up  by  transplant- 
ing from  the  supernumerary  plants.  They  were  once  more  harrowed  and 
cleaned,  which  was  a  very  small  labour;  and  owing  to  the  very  unpropitious 
weather,  were  not  harvested  until  very  late.  Some  of  them  were  very  large; 
oi;e  weighed  fifteen  pounds,  and  many  were  nearlv  as  large.  The  exact  ex- 
pense of  cultivating  the  acre  cannot  be  estimated,  as  it  was  intermixed  w-ith 
other  farm  work:  but  the  whole,  from  the  sowing  to  the  gathering,  was  not 
two-thirds  of  the  labour  usually  bestowed  on  planting,  cultivating,  and  gather- 
ing an  acre  of  potatoes. 

My  Swedish  turnips  the  last  year,  of  which  I  raised  considerable  quantities, 
were  fed  off  to  my  oxen,  dry  cows,  young  stock,  and  fatting  sheep.  To  the 
cattle  they  were  of  very  great  advantage;  and  for  feeding  sheep,  they  proved 
the  last  }'ear,  by  an  accurate  account,  worth  from  ten  to  twelve  and  a  half  cents 
per  bushel.  The  man  who  has  the  care  of  my  stock  considers  them  as  among 
the  most  profitable  feed  which  can  be  given  either  to  fatting  or  to  store  cattle. 
Three  years'  experiment  has  increased  their  value  very  much  for  these  pur- 
poses in  my  own  estimation. 


IV.    THE  OXION. 

The  common  bulbous  onion,  so  highly  esteemed  among  us. 
is  a  biennial  plant:  it  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  Asia.  There 
are  a  great  variety  of  plants,  and  many  of  them  may  be  culti- 
vated as  field  crops  to  great  advantage.  The  following  account 
of  the  mode  of  culture,  &c.,  we  take  from  the  Practical 
Farmer. 

This  is  a  well  known  vegetable.  It  has  many  varieties,  distinguished  by 
colour,  size,  and  taste.  Of  these  the  red  is  the  largest  and  most  raised.  The 
pale  red  and  the  yellow  are  less  in  size  than  the  red,  and  somewhat  milder; 
but  the  white,  though  the  smallest,  are  the  mildest,  the  soonest  fit  for  use,  and 
the  best  for  keeping. 

This  root  requires  a  mellow,  dry  soil,  and  the  richer  the  better.  The  soil 
may  be  a  rich  sand,  sandy  loam,  dry  loam,  or  a  gravelly  loam;  or  either  of 
these  earths,  of  common  quality,  when  strongly  manured,  will  answer.  It  is 
supposed  that  well  rotted  and  fermented  composts,  formed  of  such  materials  as 
are  most  suitable  to  the  soil,  will  always  be  found  the  best  manure  for  this  root. 
In  April,  or  as  soon  as  the  ground  is'snfficiently  dry  to  pulverize  well,  make 
it  %-ery  fine,  but  not  deep;  make  the  rows  a  foot  apart,  and  scatter  the  seed 
thinly  an  inch  or  more  deep.  Then  fill  in  the  drills,  and  harden  the  surface 
with  the  back  of  a  shovel. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  147 

When  the  plants  are  (wo  or  three  inches  high,  thin  them  to  four  or  five 
inches  apart.  Or  make  the  drills  about  ten  inches  apart,  each  way,  and  drop 
six  or  eight  seeds,  where  the  drills  intersect  each  other.  Though  the  largest 
onions  are  those  that  grow  singly,  some  inches  apart,  those  that  are  more 
crowded  produce  larger  crops.  A  small  quantity  of  ashes  and  sand  spread  over 
the  ground  after  planting,  is  useful.  Keep  the  ground  clear  of  weeds  by  hoeing 
and  weeding,  but  do  not  hoe  deep,  nor  raise  earth  about  the  plants.  They  should 
be  hoed  three  or  four  times  before  the  tops  have  arrived  at  their  full  height. 
After  the  bulbs  begin  to  swell,  hoeing  must  be  discontinued.  It  is  said  to  be 
very  useful,  to  apply  soot  and  ashes  when  the  bulbs  begin  to  form.  Some  are 
in  the  practice  of  beating  down  the  tops,  after  the  roots  have  attained  consider- 
able size,  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  latter  grow  the  faster;  but  the  prac- 
tice is  no  doubt  injurious.  When  the  stalks  shrivel  and  fall  spontaneously, 
they  have  ceased  to  grow,  and  should  then  be  pulled  up  and  laid  on  the  ground 
some  days  to  dry  and  harden.  If  the  weather  should  prove  moist,  they  must 
be  turned,  or  they  will  strike  new  roots  and  grow.  When  sufficiently  dry,  cut 
off  the  tops,  carry  them  in  and  spread  them  thin  over  the  floor;  here  let  them 
remain  until  the  commencement  of  cold  weather,  then  put  them  into  a  box  or 
cask  with  alternate  layers  of  dry  chaff  or  fine  straw,  and  set  them  in  a  place 
where  the}'  will  not  freeze.  A  little  i'rost,  however,  will  not  essentially  injure 
them,  unless  they  are  moved  while  frozen;  but  it  is  better  to  keep  them  in  a 
temperature  a  little  above  the  freezing  point.  Those  which  are  shipped  from 
New  England,  are  usually  tied  up  in  wisps  of  straw,  and  if  they  be  hung  up  in 
this  way  they  v.dll  perhaps  keep  longer  than  any  other.  If  they  inclme  to  sprout, 
sear  the  roots  with  a  hot  iron,  which  will  stop  their  growth.  Those  which  have 
thick  necks  and  the  bulbous  part  small,  may  be  left  in  the  ground  during  win- 
ter. Many  of  thera  M'ill  stand  the  frost,  and  in  the  spring  may  be  taken  up  and 
set  in  a  bed,  where  they  will  groM'  to  be  good  onions.  At  all  events,  they  are 
good  for  nothing,  without  a  second  year's  growth;  and  must  not  be  mixed  with 
good  onions,  lest  they  cause  them  to  rot. 

To  obtain  seeds  trom  onions,  plant  them  very  early  in  the  spring  in  beds, 
about  nine  inches  apart.  Take  the  largest  and  soundest  for  this  purpose,  and 
keep  them  clear  of  weeds  while  growing.  When  they  come  to  head,  tie  them 
loosely  to  stakes  drove  down  for  that  purpose;  otherwise  they  will  fall  to  the 
ground,  and  then  the  seeds  will  not  come  to  perfection.  In  a  garden  there 
always  ought  to  be  a  crop  to  succeed  seed  onions.  Onions  are  not  an  exhaust- 
ing crop;  and  they  may  be  constantly  raised  on  the  same  ground. 

To  cultivate  onions  on  a  large  scujc,  the  ground  should  be  perfectly  clear  of 
titones;  and  if  it  contain  the  seed  of  weeds,  these  should  be  first  eradicated  by  a 
hoed  crop.  The  ploughings,  for  preparing  the  land,  in  the  first  instance,  need 
not  be  deeper  than  three  or  four  inches.  If  the  ground  be  suitably  mellow,  any 
further  ploughings,  for  succeeding  crops,  will  be  unnecessary:  all  that  will  be 
found  requisite  will  be,  to  re-mellow  the  ground  as  deeply  and  effectually  as  it 
can  be  done  by  a  heavy  iron-toothed  harrow,  having  the  teeth  well  pointed, 
and  turning  forward,  so  as  to  run  about  two  inches  deep.  But,  where  the 
ground  is  not  of  the  mellow  kind,  it  should  be  prepared  as  at  first.  Whatever 
manure  is  applied,  should  be  very  finely  rotted,  clear  of  the  seed  of  weeds,  and 
•well  mixed  with  the  soil  by  the  harrow.  After  the  surface  is  finely  pulverized, 
it  should  be  rolled,  and  then  it  is  fit  for  the  reception  of  seed. 

The  sowing  should  be  as  early  as  the  ground  can  be  completely  prepared. 
The  seeds  should  be  drilled  in,  in  rows  about  ten  or  twelve  inches  apart,  by  a 
small  hand-drill  plough.  This  machine  may  be  made  to  drill  in  two  rows  at 
once.  The  seed  should  be  drilled  in  pretty  thickly,  for  fear  they  may  not  all 
vegetate.  If  the  plants  are  too  thick,  they  must  be  thinned  by  hand,  when  the 
first  weeding  commences.  This  is  the  most  laborious  operation  in  the  whole 
process  of  raising  this  root,  as  well  as  some  others;  but  here  we  propose  another 
labour-saving  implement,  in  the  shape  of  a  small  hand-weeding  plough.  Every 
partof  the  interval  between  the  rows  should  be  cut  with  thisplough;  after  which 
it  would  probably  be  found  requisite  to  use  a  small  narrow  iron-toothed  rake, 
for  the  purpose  of  completely  separating  the  roots  of  the  weeds  from  the  soil. 
After  this,  the  cleansing  of  the  rows  of  the  weeds,  which  the  plough  could  not 
touch,  must  be  performed  by  hand.    When  the  weeds  begin  to  rise  again,  this 


rifTr 


148  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

operation  must  be  repeated,  and  again,  if  it  be  necessarj',  as  no  weeds  should 
be  suffered  to  grow  among  the  crop. 

By  the  use  of  the  drill  and  the  weeding-plough,  it  is  believed  that  one-half  of 
the  labour  usuallj'  bestowed  w'ould  be  saved. 

Onions  have  been  successfully  cultivated  in  light,  black,  swampy  grounds, 
■when  sufficiently  dry,  by  small  open  ditches  about  three  rods  apart. 


V.    THE  CARROT. 

This  valuable  root  is  a  biennial  plant,  and  is  found  native  in 
many  parts  of  the  world.  Of  the  cultivated  carrot  there  are 
many  sorts  distinguished  by  their  colour,  size  and  form.  These 
have  not  been  derived  from  the  wild  plant  of  northern  Europe, 
which  no  cultivation  has  hitherto  been  able  to  change.  It  is 
probably  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe.  It  has  been  long 
cultivated  in  gardens,  as  an  excellent  vegetable.  But  its  great 
value  as  food  for  caitle,  was  not  known  until  a  few  years  past, 
and,  consequently,  its  introduction  as  a  field  crop  is  of  recent 
origin. 

Soil.  The  carrot  requires  a  mellow  soil,  into  which,  as  it 
is  a  tap  root,  it  can  penetrate  freely  and  deeply;  it  therefore 
prefers  the  sandy  and  rejects  the  stiif  clays.  A  fertile  sand,  a 
sandy  loam,  a  dry  warm  loam,  or  a  fertile  gravelly  loam,  are 
each  suitable  for  the  production  of  a  good  crop,  if  properly 
prepared,  well  manured,  and  carefully  attended  to.  The  ground 
ought  to  be  ploughed  as  deep  as  possible — well  pulverized,  and 
all  weeds,  stones,  and  other  obstructions  removed.  If  the  field 
should  receive  a  ploughing  the  preceding  fall,  it  will  be  all  the 
better  for  it,  as  it  will  be  pulverized  by  the  frosts  of  winter. 

Manure,  according  to  some,  should  not  be  given  to  carrots 
the  year  they  are  sown,  from  an  apprehension  that  when  the 
roots  meet  with  it,  they  become  forked,  scabbed  and  wormy.* 
This  objection,  however,  will  apply  only  to  manures  applied 
in  an  impregnated  state — a  liberal  application  of  manure  is 
essential  to  a  good  crop;  but  it  should  be  well  rotted  and  made 
very  fine,  so  as  to  ofier  no  obstruction  to  the  downward  growth 
of  the  plant.  If  it  meets  with  such  obstruction,  the  root  will 
divide  and  become  forked. 

Sowing  the  seed  is  performed  in  three  ways.  1.  The  land 
may  be  formed  into  drills,  and  the  seed  sown  on  the  top.  2. 
In  rows,  but  without  being  on  raised  drills.  3.  Broadcast. 
Of  these  three  methods,  the  best  under  ordinary  circumstances 
is  that  of  rows,  either  on  a  raised  or  flat  surface,  and  these  rows 
may  either  have  a  narrow  interval,  as  twelve  or  fifteen  inches, 

*  Loudon,  page  862.    Farmers'  Assistant,  page  43. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  149 

in  which  case  only  the  hand-hoe  can  act;  or  at  such  a  distance 
that  the  cultivator  may  be  used  as  in  other  crops.  Two  pounds 
of  seed,  when  sown  in  rows,  is  sufficient  for  an  acre.  Broad- 
cast, five  pounds.  Caution — The  seed  of  the  carrot  should  be 
of  the  previous  season's  growth,  otherwise  they  may  not  vege- 
tate. They  should  in  all  cases  be  tried  before  they  are  sown; 
the  most  frequent  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  carrot  being  the 
badness  of  the  seeds. 

The  after  culture  given  to  the  carrot  consists  entirely  in 
hoeing  and  weeding — that  is,  keeping'the  soil  well  pulverized 
and  free  from  weeds.  The  first  hoeing  should  be  given  when 
the  plants  are  fairly  above  ground;  and  the  operation  must  be 
performed  with  great  care,  as  it  is  difficult  at  this  period  to  dis- 
tinguish the  carrots  from  the  weeds  in  the  rows. 

Harvesting  or  gathering  is  generally  performed  in  the 
month  of  October — they  may  remain  later  in  the  ground  if  the 
weather  proves  mild  and  favourable.  When  stored  for  pre- 
servation during  the  winter,  differenTmodes  are  practiced,  ac- 
cording to  the  conveniences  possessed  by  the  farmer.  A  cellar 
might  be  easily  constructed  in  a  side-hill,  covered  with  earth, 
and  so  guarded  as  to  exclude  the  frost,  in  which  these  and  other 
roots  designed  for  feeding  cattle  could  be  stored. 

Produce  and  lise.  The  produce  depends  upon  soil,  season, 
method  of  cultivation,  &c.  Of  late  years,  since  the  attention 
of  farmers  has  been  directed  to  the  cultivation  of  roots,  as  a 
source  of  profit,  immense  crops  of  carrots  have  been  raised;  as 
high  as  eighteen  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  average 
crop — (we  now  speak  of  good  farms  and  good  farmers) — is 
from  six  to  eight  hundred  bushels.  Use.  The  carrot  is  very 
nutritious.  As  food,  it  is  eaten  both  by  man  and  beast.  It  is 
relished  by  every  domestic  animal  in  its  raw  state;  and  where 
the  winters  are  long  they  are  of  inestimable  value  as  fodder. 
For  fattening  animals,  they  are  most  excellent.  Animals  gene- 
rally may  be  almost  entirely  fattened  on  carrots. 

To  save  carrot  seed,  select  annually  some  of  the  most  per- 
fect and  best  shaped  roots  in  the  taking  up  season,  and  preserve 
them  in  sand  in  a  cellar  until  the  ensuing  spring,  when  they 
should  be  set  out  as  early  as  the  season  may  justify.  In  August 
the  seed  will  be  fit  to  gather,  and  is  best  preserved  on  the  stalks 
till  wanted.  This  is  a  sure  mode  of  obtaining  fine  seed;  but 
still  an  occasional  change  is  necessary. 

The  diseases  to  which  the  carrot  is  liable  are  those  common 
to  most  plants,  such  as  mildew,  insects,  &e.  The  mildew,  and 
worms  at  the  root,  frequently  injure  the  crops,  and  are  to  be 
guarded  against  as  far  as  possible,  by  a  proper  choice  of  soil, 
season  of  sowiniz;,  and  after  culture. 
.13* 


150  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 


VI.    THE  PARSNEP. 

The  parsnep  is  a  biennial  plant,  with  a  fusiform  root  like 
the  carrot,  which  it  resembles  in  its  uses  and  the  manner  of 
its  cultivation.  It  is  a  native  of  Asia  and  of  many  parts  of 
Europe.  It  has  long  been  cultivated  in  gardens  as  a  culinary 
vegetable,  but  is  only  of  late,  and  as  yet  of  very  limited  intro- 
duction as  a  field  plant.  The  parsnep  produces  a  larger  crop 
than  the  carrot,  averaging  twenty-four  tons  to  the  acre  in  Eng- 
land. 

The  best  soil  is  a  deep  rich  sandy  loam,  or  a  soil  which  is 
sufficiently  deep  and  mellow  to  enable  the  root  to  force  its  way 
downwards  with  ease,  as  it  has  a  tendency  to  strike  deeply 
into  the  earth.  It  may  be  cultivated  in  drills,  precisely  like 
the  turnip  and  potato.  Indeed  this  seems  to  be  the  best  mode 
of  raising  it — because  jm  increased  deepness,  eminently  fa- 
vourable to  the  habits  of  the  plant,  will  be  given  to  the  soil. 

The  intervals  need  be  no  wider  than  will  admit  the  culti- 
vator for  the  after  culture  of  the  crop;  and  the  plants  in  the 
rows  should  stand  from  eight  to  ten  inches  from  each  other. 
All  the  after  processes  of  tillage  may  be  the  same  as  for  the 
carrot,  as  well  as  the  soil,  preparation  and  manure.  The  plant 
is  ready  for  use  when  the  leaves  begin  to  decay.  It  may  be 
taken  up  and  stored  like  the  carrot.  The  quantity  of  seed  for 
sowing  in  drills  or  rows,  is  from  three  to  five  pounds  per  acre; 
broadcast,  eight  pounds. 

Its  uses  for  domestic  purposes  are  well  known.  All  animals 
are  fond  of  it.  To  milch  cows  it  is  eminently  favourable, 
giving  a  flavour  and  richness  to  their  milk,  which  no  other 
winter  vegetables  but  the  carrot  and  sugar-beet  can  give. 
Horses  are  fond  of  it,  and  thrive  as  well  upon  it  as  on  the  carrot. 
Mr.  Loudon  says,  that  thirty  perches  where  the  crop  is  good, 
will  be  sufficient  to  fatten  a  perfectly  lean  ox  of  three  or  four 
years  old,  in  the  course  of  three  months.  Hogs  are  excessively 
fond  of  it;  and,  when  boiled,  poultry  may  be  fed  upon  it  to 
advantage. 

Parsnep  leaves  may  be  mown  off  before  taking  up  the  roots 
and  given  to  cows,  oxen  or  horses,  by  which  they  are  greedily 
eaten.  To  save  seed,  proceed  as  with  the  carrot.  The  parsnep 
is  a  hardy  plant,  and  subject  but  to  few  diseases  or  accidents. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  151 


Vir.    THE  CABBAGE. 

The  cultivation  of  this  plant  as  a  garden  vegetable,  is  of  the 
greatest  antiquity.  The  varieties,  though  numerous,  are  all 
derived  from  the  same  stock.  Its  native  country  is  unknown. 
It  is  cultivated  only  for  its  leaves,  which  are  highly  nutritious, 
and  very  palatable  to  both  men  and  cattle — especially  cows. 
The  large  field  cabbage  (drum-head)  are  considered  best  for 
farm  culture. 

Its  cultivation  as  a  field  crop  for  the  use  of  cattle,  cannot  be 
strongly  recommended;  as  it  is  inferior  for  that  purpose  to  the 
sugar-beet,  ruta-baga,  and  some  other  more  certain  crops.  Ne- 
vertheless every  farmer  will  find  it  to  his  advantage  to  raise  a 
proper  portion  of  cabbage  as  a  change  of  food  for  his  farm  stock. 
It  will  have  a  good  effect  on  the  cattle.  When  fed  to  milch 
cows  the  decayed  leaves  should  be  removed  with  great  care,  as 
they  impart  an  unpleasant  flavour  to  the  milk.  The  field  cul- 
ture of  the  cabbage  in  the  neighbourhood  of  cities  and  large 
towns,  may  be  prosecuted  to  great  advantage. 

Any  soil  that  is  rich  will  suit  the  cabbage,  but  a  strong  loam 
is  preferred.  The  preparation  of  the  land  is  similar  to  that  for 
potatoes  and  turnips.  The  seed  may  be  either  sown  in  drills — 
the  shoots  being  afterwards  singled  out  to  the  requisite  dis- 
tance, and  the  roots  allowed  to  stand  for  a  crop — or  they  may 
be  ,sovvn  in  a  garden  or  nursery,  and  afterwards  transplanted. 
This  is  the  plan  usually  adopted.  The  season  for  sowing  de- 
pends upon  the  time  when  it  is  intended  to  make  use  of  the 
crop.  They  will  thrive  if  planted  any  time  from  March  to 
June. 

The  intervals  between  the  rows  are  tilled  by  the  hand-hoe 
and  cultivator,  as  described  in  the  case  of  the  turnip.  The  last 
tillage  should  be  that  of  earthing  up  the  soil  thoroughly  to  the 
roots  of  the  plants.  The  drills  should  be  thirty  to  thirty-six 
inches  from  centre  to  centre,  and  the  distance  between  each 
plant  in  the  rows  should  be  two  and  a  half  feet.  But  these 
distances  are  for  the  very  largest  kinds.  Cabbages  do  not  en- 
dure storing  like  turnips.  They  are  liable  to  fewer  diseases 
than  almost  any  other  plant  cultivated. 

There  are  many  excellent  varieties  easily  grown,  very  deli- 
cate, sell  readily,  and  may  without  difiiculty  be  preserved 
during  winter.  The  Savoy  cabbage,  which  is  in  good  repute, 
requires  a  distance  of  two  feet  in  the  drill — the  distance  be- 
tween the  drills,  from  centre  to  centre,  being  the  same.  An 
acre  of  land  contains  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  ten 


152  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

square  yards,  equal  to  forty-three  thousand  five  hundred  and 
sixty  square  feet — consequently  ten  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  ninety  Savoy  cabbages  may  be  raised  on  an  acre  of  ground 
two  feet  apart  each  way. 


VIII.    RAPE. 

The  Brassica  Napus,  cole  or  rape,  is  a  native  of  Great  Bri- 
tain; a  biennial  plant  of  the  turnip  kind,  with  a  caulescent  or 
woody  fusiform  root,  unfit  to  be  eaten  by  animals.  Its  leaves 
are  smooth.  When  cultivated  it  produces  abundance  of  leaves 
and  seeds.  The  leaves  are  used  for  food;  and  from  the  seeds, 
an  oil  of  very  superior  quality,  and  extensively  used  in  the 
arts,  is  expressed.*  A  bushel  of  the  seed  will  generally  give 
a  gallon  of  oil;  and  the  cake  from  which  the  oil  is  expressed 
affords  a  rich  food  for  cattle,  and  when  powdered  or  pulverized 
is  extensively  used  in  France,  the  Netherlands,  and  England 
as  a  manure  for  drilled  turnips. 

This  plant  thrives  on  almost  any  soil,  provided  it  is  made 
sufficiently  rich;  but  those  best  suited  for  it,  and  on  which  it 
flourishes  best,  are  the  deep,  rich,  dry  and  kindly  soils.  It  is 
a  hardy  plant.  It  requires  less  of  culture  and  manure  than  the 
turnip,  and  consequently  can  be  produced  under  circumstances 
in  which  the  turnip  cannot  be  profitably  cultivated.  The  man- 
ner of  cultivating  the  rape  is  similar  to  the  manner  of  cultivat- 
ing the  turnip;  but  it  admits  of  variations  suited  to  the  soil, 
the  period  of  sowing,  and  other  circumstances. 

The  prejjaration  of  the  land  and  its  formation  into  drills, 
the  manuring  and  sowing  of  the  seed,  is  the  same  as  is  de- 
scribed for  the  turnip  culture,  but  with  narrower  intervals  be- 
tween the  rows;  the  least  distance  that  will  admit  a  cultivator, 
will  answer — say  two  feet.  The  quantity  of  seed  depends 
upon  the  manner  of  sowing  it.  If  it  is  sown  broadcast,  as  is 
frequently  the  case,  four  quarts  at  least  will  be  required — if 
by  the  drill  process,  one  half  that  quantity  will  be  found  to 
answer.     Sow  in  June  or  July,  when  intended  for  green  food 

*  One  peculiar  property  in  the  oil  of  this  plant  is,  that  it  does  not  produce 
spontaneous  combustion.  Hence,  in  England  and  France,  it  is  used  in  nearly  all 
machinery  and  manufactures.  It  is  superior  to  most  oils  also  in  other  respects. 
The  imports  of  this  oil  into  this  country  varies  from  thirty  to  fifty  thousand 
dollars  per  annum.  The  cultivation  of  rape  and  the  manufacture  of  the  oil  in 
this  country,  would  not  only  retain  this  amount  of  money  among  our  farmers, 
but  no  doubt  its  general  use  in  manufactories  would  save  many  of  them  from 
the  flames  said  to  be  kindled  by  the  incendiary. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  X53 

in  the  fall;  but  in  August  or  September,  wben  the  object  is  to 
produce  seeds  the  ensuing  year.  Its  after  culture  is  the  same 
as  the  turnip,  and  consists  in  hoeing,  thinning,  and  keeping  the 
soil  mellow. 

It  produces  in  ordinary  seasons  on  rich  alluvial,  or  other  deep  friable  soils, 
from  forty  to  seventy  bushels  of  seeds,  determined  in  quantity  very  much  by 
the  accuracy  of  tillage,  and  the  condition  and  nature  of  the  land.  iGrreat  care 
and  precisio'n  are  necessary  in  harvesting  the  seeds  in  June  or  July  of  the  year 
succeeding  that  in  which  they  are  sown.  When  the  pods  assume  a  brownish 
cast,  and  some  of  the  seeds  become  black,  the  crop  is  reaped  with  sickles— laid 
regularly  in  handsful  ov  grips  in  rows,  where  it  continues  until  the  straw  be- 
comes somewhat  white — the  seeds  of  the  colour  of  which  we  find  them  in  the 
$hops. — John  Hare  PowelVs  Hints  to  American  Husbandmen. 

In  harvesting  rape  great  care  is  requisite  not  to  lose  the  seed 
by  shaking,  chaffing  or  exposure  to  high  winds  or  rains.  If  the 
pods  are  too  dry  the  seeds  escape  at  the  least  motion.  It  should 
be  reaped  in  fine  weather,  and  immediately  threshed  out.  The 
seed,  as  it  is  liable  to  heat  at  first,  should  not  be  suffered  to  re- 
main in  large  heaps  on  the  threshing  floor,  but  divided  into 
small  parcels  and  frequently  turned. 

The  uses  to  which  the  rape  is  applied,  are  as  follow:  The 
seeds  are  crushed  for  an  oil  well  known  and  extensively  used. 
It  is  used  as  food  for  caged  birds.  The  seed,  as  before  observ- 
ed, after  the  oil  has  been  expressed,  is  used  with  great  ad- 
vantage; first,  as  a  nourishing  and  very  agreeable  food  for 
cattle,  on  which  they  thrive  and  fatten  remarkably  well;  and 
secondly,  as  a  manure  for  turnips  and  other  root  crops,  when 
sown  on  the  drill  system.  For  this  purpose  it  is  reduced  to  a 
powder.  Its  leaves  as  a  green  food  are  scarcely  surpassed  by 
any  other  vegetable — sheep  and  neat  cattle  are  extravagantly 
fond  of  them. 


IX.    THE  BEET. 

The  Mangold- Wurtzel — The  Sugar-Beet. 

The  field-beet,  Beta  Vulgaris,  is  of  larger  size  and  grows 
more  above  ground  than  the  varieties  cultivated  in  the  gardens. 
It  is  sometimes  red  externally  and  yellowish-white  internally; 
but  it  has  different  shades  of  colour.  The  mangold-wurtzel, 
or  root  of  scarcity  as  it  was  formerly  called,  is  said  by  Pro- 
fessor VoN  Thaer,  to  be  a  mongrel,  between  the  red  and  the 
white  beet.  The  mangold-wurtzel  and  the  sugar-beet,  as  field 
crops,  are  of  recent  date — the  latter  especially. 

The  beet,  in  a  good  season,  sown  on  a  kind  soil,  and  with 


154  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

judicious  and  careful  tillage,  will  yield  an  immense  crop.  The 
mode  of  culture*  throughout,  of  the  mangold-wurtzel  and  the 
sugar-beet,  is  precisely  similar.  The  former  is  now  very  ex- 
tensively cultivated  in  some  sections  of  England,  as  a  field 
crop,  where  they  are  in  high  repute  for  the  fattening  of  cattle 
and  the  feeding  of  milch  cows.  In  the  United  States  they  are 
both  in  high  favour  with  many  farmers,  especially  the  sugar- 
beet,  which  contains  a  large  proportion  of  saccharine  matter, 
and  has  been  found,  for  all  the  purposes  of  its  culture,  decidedly 
superior  to  any  of  the  other  root  crops. 

Chaptal,*  the  best  authority  perhaps  extant,  authorized  by 
ten  or  twelve  successive  years  of  experiments  and  observations 
on  the  culture  of  tlie  beet,  recommends  it  strongly  to  the 
notice  of  his  countrymen,  not  only  as  a  means  of  supplying 
the  immense  empire  of  France  with  sugar  extracted  from  the 
root,  but  as  preparing  the  way  for  an  improved  state  of  hus- 
bandry; not  merely  by  leaving  the  lands  on  which  the  roots 
are  grown,  in  a  most  excellent  state  for  succeeding  grain  crops, 
but  also  by  enabling  the  farmer  to  keep  a  large  amount  of  cat- 
tle in  the  best  order — which  in  all  cases  give  him  a  good  re- 
turn— and  leaves  him  in  possession  of  an  abundance  of  manure. 

Choice  of  soils.  Distinction  in  the  choice  of  soils  for  the 
culture  of  this  root  is  exceedingly  important.  Its  nature  is  to 
penetrate  low  into  the  ground,  and,  therefore,  prefers  a  deep 
loose  mould  in  which  it  can  vegetate  without  obstacle.  Its 
radicles  easily  collect  the  nourishment  necessary  for  its  sup- 
port, and  it  thrives  luxuriantly,  j-  All  grain  lands  are  more  or 
less  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  beets,  but  the  best  soils  for 
the  purpose  are  those  that  have  the  greatest  depth  of  vegetable 
mould. 

They  may  be  cultivated  with  good  success  upon  natural  or 
artificial  grass  lands,  but  tliey  come  up  badly  when  sown  in  the 
spring  upon  such  lands  as  are  broken  up  in  the  preceding 
autumn,  the  turf  and  roots  do  not  in  so  short  a  time  become 
sufficiently  decomposed,  and  in  order  to  have  good  beet-roots 
it  is  necessary  to  raise  a  crop  of  oats  between  the  time  of  break- 
ing up  a  meadow  and  sowing  it  with  beet-seed,  after  this  two 
successive  crops  of  the  finest  beets  may  be  grown.  Dry,  cal- 
careous and  light  soils  are  but  little  suited  to  the  culture  of  this 
root,  nor  will  it  flourish  well  in  strong  clayey  soils. J 

*  John  Antony  Chaptal,  Count  and  Peer  of  the  realm  of  France,  who 
died,  July  29, 1833,  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age — full  of  years  and  honours — 
was  the  father  of  the  beet  culture  in  France,  and  the  able  and  enlightened  ad- 
vocate of  the  extraction  of  sugar  from  the  roots.  He  was,  in  the  fullest  sense 
of  the  word,  a  practical  and  scientific  agriculturist. 

t  Notice  of  the  Sugar-Beet,  page  20. 

t  Chaptal's  Agricultural  Chemistry,  page  317. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  155 

Situation  of  the  ground.  The  position  of  the  ground  em- 
ployed for  this  culture  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference.  In  high- 
land the  beet  succeeds  but  imperfectly  in  dry  seasons,  but  it  is 
then  easily  worked;  the  crops  on  these  high  grounds  are  abun- 
dant in  wet  seasons.  In  low  marsh  grounds  the  case  is  revers- 
ed, the  crop  is  drowned,  and  the  beet  generally  saturated  with 
water,  whilst  in  warm  dry  years  the  crops  are  excellent,  be- 
cause the  heat  and  drought  are  counteracted  by  the  fresh  and 
moist  sub-soil.  To  obtain  average  crops  it  is,  therefore,  pru- 
dent when  it  can  be  done,  to  choose  a  situation  exposed  to 
neither  of  these  extremes. 

Preparation  of  the  soil.  Generally  speaking  I  cultivate 
beets  upon  all  such  lands  as  are  appropriated  for  sowing  grain 
upon  in  the  fall.  The  lands  I  prepare  for  receiving  the  seed 
by  three  good  tillings,  two  of  which  are  performed  in  the 
w-inter,  and  one  in  the  spring;  (in  this  county  one  ploughing 
in  the  fall,  and  two  or  more,  if  necessary,  in  the  spring,  may  be 
given;)  by  this  last  ploughing  the  dung  which  is  thrown  upon 
the  ground  after  the  second  is  mixed  with  it,  the  quantity  of 
manure  employed  is  the  same  as  if  the  ground  was  to  be  im- 
mediately sown  with  wheat.*  The  importance  of  thorough 
ploughing,  harrowing,  rolling,  and  all  other  means  of  improv- 
ing soils  is  now  pretty  well  understood.  All  plants  do  not 
require  in  the  same  degree  these  precautions,  and  those  which 
require  them  least  generally  rank  among  exhausting  plants, 
while  those  that  can  least  dispense  with  them  are  considered 
fertilizing.  The  beet  is  of  this  latter  description,  and  one  of 
the  leading  advantages  which  it  offers  to  agriculture  is  the  ne- 
cessity it  creates  not  only  for  deep  and  thorough  ploughings, 
but  moreover  the  careful  culture  it  requires,  and  the  means 
necessary  to  gather  it,  must,  in  the  aggregate,  necessarily 
leave  the  soil  in  a  highly  improved  state,  and  the  benefits 
therefore  to  rural  economy  which  an  extensive  culture  of  this 
plant  must  produce  are  incalculable. 

Solving  the  seed.  The  period  of  sowing  the  beet  will  de- 
pend in  some  measure  upon  the  state  of  the  season,  the  nature 
of  the  soil,  and  the  situation  of  the  ground  on  which  the  crop 
is  to  be  raised.  Early  sowing  is  strongly  recommended  by 
some  very  judicious  cultivators;  but  the  sudden  return  of 
frosts  in  early  spring — even  after  many  days  of  pleasant 
weather — renders  very  early  sowing  somewhat  hazardous.  In 
this  latitude,  40°,  from  the  middle  of  April  to  the  middle  of 
May,  will  probably  be  found  in  general  the  most  suitable 
period.  Before  planting,  pour  water  moderately  warm  over 
the  seed,  and  let  it  soak  one  or  two  days. 

*  CHAPTiL's  Agricultural  Chemistry,  page  317. 


156  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

It  does  not  answer  to  sow  immediately  after  the  cessation  of 
frosts,  as  the  ground  being  cold  and  wet,  the  seed  does  not 
germinate  immediately,  and  the  soil  becoming  hardened  by 
the  violence  of  the  rains,  does  not  admit  the  air  to  penetrate, 
so  that  if  the  seed  do  not  decay,  the  beets  come  up  badly. 
The  most  favourable  period  for  sowing  is  that  when  the  earth, 
although  heated  by  the  rays  of  the  sun,  still  contains  sufficient 
moisture  to  produce  germination  and  to  facilitate  the  growth 
of  the  young  plant;  the  month  of  April  and  the  early  part  of 
May  generally  unite  these  advantages. 

Choice  of  seeds.  Chaptal  says  that  every  good  farmer 
always  raises  his  own  seeds.  In  order  to  do  this,  he  plants  his 
beet-roots,  which  it  is  supposed  he  selects  with  great  care, 
choosing  the  finest  and  most  perfectly  formed,  in  the  spring, 
in  a  good  soil,  and  gathers  the  seed  in  September,  as  fast  as  it 
ripens,  selecting  only  the  best,  and  leaving  upon  the  stalks  such 
as  are  not  thoroughly  ripe;  each  beet-root  will  furnish  from 
five  to  ten  ounces  of  seeds.  When  no  care  is  taken  in  select- 
ing the  seeds,  and  they  are  sown  indiscriminately,  not  only  are 
many  of  the  beets  small  and  ill-grown,  but  half  of  the  seeds 
sown  do  not  yield  any  thing.  The  seeds  should  be  fresh,  not 
exceeding  two  years  old,  and  the  utmost  care  should  be  taken 
to  know  that  they  are  of  the  true  kind. 

The  seed  may  be  sown  in  either  of  the  three  following 
methods.  1.  In  a  seed  plot.  2.  In  drills.  3.  Broadcast.  For 
fi'eld  crops,  the  first  and  third  methods  are  very  objectionable, 
The  true  plan  is  to  plant  in  drills  or  rows,  the  land  having  been 
previously  well  prepared;  ten  to  twelve  acres  may  be  planted 
with  great  regularity  in  a  day,  by  the  use  of  the  drill  machine. 
From  three  to  four  pounds  of  seed  are  sufiicient  to  plant  an 
acre. 

The  drills  should  be  from  twenty-four  to  thirty  inches  from 
centre  to  centre;  or  so  wide  at  least,  as  to  admit  the  cultivator 
or  horse-hoe  in  the  intervals,  which  should  be  used  as  soon  as 
the  plants  are  fully  above  ground.  The  hand-hoers  with  the 
turnip-hoe  should  then  follow,  remove  all  the  remaining  weeds, 
and  at  the  same  time  thin  out  the  plants  in  the  rows,  to  the 
distance  of  eight,  ten  or  twelve  inches.  When  the  weeds  again 
make  their  appearance,  the  cultivator  is  to  be  passed  between 
the  rows,  cutting  up  the  weeds  and  loosening  the  earth.  The 
next  process,  which  completes  the  summer  culture  of  the  beet, 
is  the  setting  up  of  the  earth  around  the  roots. 

Harvesting  and  Freserving  the  Sugar  Beet.  The  roots 
are  generally  gathered  in  September  or  October,  about  the 
time  the  largest  of  the  leaves  begin  to  assume  a  yellowish 
tinge,  and  certainly  before  the  setting  in  of  frosts.     The  re- 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  157 

maining  leaves  may  be  fed  to  cattle,  having  been  previously 
separated  from  the  root,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  injure 
its  crown.  They  should  not  be  harvested  immediately  after 
long  rains.  The  best,  most  economical,  convenient  and  effec- 
tual mode  of  preserving  the  beet,  and  indeed  all  other  root  crops, 
is  in  cellars  attached  to  barns,  properly  constructed  and  well 
ventilated;  and  for  this  purpose  every  farmer  when  about  to 
construct  a  barn,  should  fix  on  a  site  where,  with  but  little  ad- 
ditional expense,  he  may  run  off  a  suit  of  cellars.  The  most 
general  mode  now  adopted  for  their  preservation,  is  the  same 
as  described  for  the  preservation  of  the  turnip.  It  is,  however, 
both  inconvenient  and  uncertain. 

Benjamin  Webb,  Esq.,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  says, 
that  for  the  last  two  years  he  has  cultivated  the  Silician  sugar- 
beet — yield  about  eight  hundred  bushels  per  acre — the  ruta- 
baga rather  more.  Expense  of  raising  the  sugar-beet,  the 
mangold-wurtzel  or  ruta-baga,  according  to  his  experiments, 
when  compared  with  corn,  as  three  to  one.  That  is,  one  acre 
of  roots,  properly  cultivated,  will  cost  as  much  as  the  culture 
of  three  acres  of  corn.  The  advantage  however,  is  altogether 
on  the  side  of  the  root  crop — the  produce  being  ten-fold — pro- 
ducing nine  hundred  bushels  of  the  ruta-baga  to  the  acre; 
whereas  the  same  ground  would  not  yield  over  eighty  bushels 
of  corn  to  the  acre. 

The  same  intelligent  gentleman — who  is  one  of  our  most 
careful  and  observing  farmers — considers  the  sugar-beet  pre- 
ferable to  the  ruta-baga  for  dairy  cows;  but  that  preference 
cannot  induce  him — and  in  this  there  is  a  strong  example  for 
others — to  cultivate  the  beet  to  the  exclusion  of  the  turnip. 
These  two  roots  are  planted,  and  of  course  cultivated  at  different 
seasons,  which  divides  the  labour  both  in  planting  and  dressing, 
an  object  with  the  farmer  in  the  summer  season,  when  every 
moment  of  time  is  of  the  greatest  value.  Mr.  Webb  very 
judiciously  observes — "My  experiments  warrant  no  conclusion 
like  making  the  sugar-beet  or  any  of  the  root  family  an  entire 
substitute  for  grain  in  feeding  stock."  He  recommends  roots 
as  most  important  auxiliaries  in  the  economy  of  food.  To  a 
yoke  of  working  oxen  he  gives  one  bushel  roots  per  day,  with 
grass,  hay  or  straw.  His  winter  allowance  for  a  dairy  of 
twenty  cows  is,  from  ten  to  fifteen  bushels  of  roots,  and  from 
one  to  three  bushels  of  chopped  corn  or  oats  per  day,  with  as 
much  hay  and  straw  as  they  can  eat. 

J.  N.,  a  successful  farmer  residing  in  Delaware  county,  and 

who  has  been  in   the  habit  for  many  years  past  of  fattening 

mutton  for  the  Philadelphia  market,  has  used,  since  1837,  the 

sugar-beet  mainly,  with  a  small  portion  of  corn.     The  animals 

14 


158  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

fatten  on  it  with  great  rapidity-  It  imparts  a  richness  and 
flavour  to  the  meat  which  corn  fed  animals  never  possess.  The 
consequence  is,  that  his  mutton  has  acquired  a  high  repute,  is 
quickly  sold,  and  at  a  considerable  advance  over  the  corn  or 
grain  fed  mutton,  which  is  an  additional  gain  over  that  acquir- 
ed in  the  diflerence  of  feed. 

Yield.  We  have  before  remarked,  that  from  the  beet,  in  a 
favourable  season,  on  a  good  soil  and  proper  cultivation,  very 
large  returns  are  occasionally  obtained.  In  France,  the  ave- 
rage is  reckoned  at  fifteen  tons  per  acre.  In  this  country, 
with  the  same  careful  tillage,  the  average  would,  no  doubt, 
double  that  of  France.  It  does  not,  probably,  at  the  present 
time,  fall  below  twenty-five  tons  to  the  acre.  But  it  should 
be  recollected  that  here  the  roots  grow  to  a  much  greater  size 
than  in  Europe.*  William  Andexreid,  Esq.,  of  Schuylkill 
county,  Pennsylvania,  raised  in  the  year  1S35,  of  the  sugar- 
beet,  the  enormous  crop  of  sixty-two  and  a  half  tons  to  the 
acre.  John  Sanford,  of  jSIarcellus,  New  York,  has  raised, 
according  to  the  Genesee  Farmer,  two  thousand  bushels  to  the 
acre.  These  are  uncommon  crops.  The  usual  yield,  where 
soil  and  all  other  circumstances  are  favourable  to  the  growth  of 
the  plant,  is  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  bushels  to 
the  acre. 


X.    THE  JERUSALEM  ARTICHOKE. 

This  plant  is,  like  all  the  plants  of  the  sunflower  genus,  a 
native  of  America;  and  notwithstanding  it  belongs  to  our 
southern  section,  it  is  one  of  the  hardiest  of  our  cultivated 
plants,  very  productive,  easily  propagated,  and  growing  on  the 
poorest  soils.  Its  stems  vary  from  five  to  ten  feet  in  height. 
It  may  be  propagated  with  the  greatest  ease  from  tubers,  like 
the  potato — or  from  its  seeds.  It  grows  rapidly,  and  may  be 
cultivated  like  the  potato;  but  the  intervals  between  both  the 
plants  and  rows  should  be  larger.  It  may  be  planted  in 
autumn;  but  if  planted  in  the  spring,  it  will  be  ready  for  use 
in  September. 

It  is  customary,  with  some  who  grow  this  plant,  to  cut  the 
stems  or  stalks  even  in  July,  to  prevent  their  falling  down; 
and,  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  stems  and  leaves  are  used 
as  green  and  dried  fodder  for  cattle;  but  we  believe  this  prac- 
tice has  not  as  yet  been  introduced  into  England.     The  tubers 

*  JiMES  Pedder.  Esq. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  159 

are  in  clusters,  attached  to  the  roots  of  the  plant.  As  com- 
pared with  the  tubers  of  the  potato,  they  are  watery,  and  in- 
ferior in  nutritive  properties.  Still  it  is  considered  valuable 
for  feeding  hogs  and  other  animals;  the  tubers  are  generally 
eaten  with  great  eagerness.  This  plant  is  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner fitted  to  grow  under  the  shade. 

The  yield  is  frequently  very  large — about  five  hundred 
bushels  per  acre  having  been  produced  without  manure.  The 
"Complete  Practical  Farmer,"  page  145,  says,  that  one  culti- 
vator obtained  between  seventy  and  eighty  tons  of  this  root; 
and  expresses  an  opinion  that  three  acres  devoted  to  this  cul- 
ture will  keep  one  hundred  swine  for  six  months.  It  is  a  cer- 
tain crop  and  suffers  little  if  any  from  frost.  Taking  therefore 
into  account  the  hardy  qualities  of  this  plant — its  productive- 
ness and  easy  culture — it  may  be  doubted  whether  it  merits 
the  almost  universal  neglect  into  which  it  has  fallen.  Grant- 
ing its  inferiority  as  an  article  of  food  to  the  plants  now  culti- 
vated for  our  domestic  stock,  it  must  be  of  some  importance 
to  retain  among  us,  a  plant  that  can  be  so  easily  raised,  and  on 
soils  so  low  in  the  scale  of  fertility. 


160 


VIII.— PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  FIBRES 
FOR  THREAD,  OR  CHIEFLY  FOR  THE  CLOTHING 
ARTS. 

I.    FLAX. 

The  plants  chiefly  cultivated  for  their  fibres  for  thread  and 
the  clothing  arts,  are  Flax,  Hemp,  and  in  the  southern  states, 
Cotton,  on  a  very  extensive  scale,  teasel,  madder,  woad  and 
weld;  the  first  four  are  used  by  the  manufacturer  of  the  fabric, 
and  the  others  by  the  dyer.  Flax  is  cultivated  for  its  fibre  for 
thread,  and  also  for  its  seeds  for  being  crushed  for  oil.  It  is 
supposed  by  many  writers  to  be  a  native  of  Egypt,  but  Mr. 
Armstrong  says  it  is  of  Asiatic  origin* — it  has  been  cultivated 
from  time  immemorial.  It  is  a  hardy  plant,  embracing  a  wide 
range  of  temperature,  being  cultivated,  and  for  the  like  pur- 
poses, from  Egypt  almost  to  the  polar  circle. 

Flax  is  considered  an  exhauster  of  the  soil  and  farm,  espe- 
cially when  its  seeds  are  permitted  to  arrive  at  maturity;  hxxt 
its  effects  are  less  injurious  when  pulled  green,  in  which  respect 
it  follows  the  general  law  of  other  cultivated  plants.  The  soils 
best  suited  to  it  are  the  rich  alluvial  districts — where  it  should 
be  largely  cultivated — entering  into,  and  forming  a  part  of  the 
regular  course  of  crops.  In  such  districts  its  culture,  with 
proper  care  in  keeping  the  land  clean,  and  in  its  fertile  state, 
would  be  found  highly  profitable  both  in  an  individual  and 
national  point  of  view. 

The  soils  most  proper  for  flax,  besides  the  alluvial  kinds  re- 
ferred to  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  are  deep  and  friable  loams, 
and  such  as  contain  a  large  proportion  of  vegetable  matter  in 
their  composition.  Strong  clays  do  not  answer  well,  nor  soils 
of  a  gravelly,  or  dry  sandy  nature.  But  whatever  is  the  kind 
of  soil,  it  ought  neither  to  be  in  too  poor  nor  too  rich  a  condi- 
tion; because,  in  the  latter  case,  the  flax  is  apt  to  grow  too 
luxuriantly,  and  to  produce  a  coarse  sort;  and,  in  the  former 
case,  the  plant,  from  growing  weakly,  affords  only  a  small 
produce,  t 

The  following  very  judicious  remarks  on  the  culture  of  flax, 

*  See  Armstrono's  valuable  and  interesting  Treatise  on  Agriculture;  section 
X.  article  8. 
t  Treatise  on  Rural  Affairs. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  jgj 

are  gathered  from  an  Essay  on  Flax  Husbandry,  by  S.  W, 
PoMEROY,  Esq.,  of  Brighton,  JNIassachusetts.  This  essay  is 
filled  with  practical  information.  The  author  very  correctly 
remarks  in  the  introduction,  that  flax,  though  a  necessary  crop, 
has  never,  at  any  period,  been  considered  as  a  profitable  one 
with  us.  But  it  is  presumed  that  such  has  been  the  acquisi- 
tion of  knowledge  and  improvements,  especially  in  those 
branches  of  mechanical  knowledge  connected  with  it,  that  an 
entire  new  view  may  be  taken  of  flax  husbandry — that  it  may 
be  made  to  enter  into  the  agricultural  system  of  the  country 
much  more  extensively  than  heretofore. 

Notwithstanding  it  is  an  opinion  well  established  among  experienced  flax- 
growers  in  this  country,  that  ^  change  of  seed  is  advantageous,  it  is  appre- 
hended that  they  are  not  aware  of  the  extent  of  the  benefit  to  be  derived  by  se- 
lecting seed  from  a  soil  or  climate  essentially  ditferent;  and  it  may  be  owing 
to  a  want  of  attention  in  this  particular,  that  the  flax  crops  are  so  uncertain, 
and  the  quality  inferior,  however  perfect  in  other  respects  the  system  may  be 
conducted. 

Mr.  You.vG  observes,  that  "foreign  flaxseed  was  universally  used  in  Ireland 
when  it  could  be  obtained,  otherwise  they  were  careful  to  procure  seed  which 
grew  upon  a  soil  of  an  opposite  quality  from  that  which  was  to  be  sown;''  that 
"American  seed  was  preferred,  and  produced  finer  flax  than  any  other.  Baltic 
seed  produced  more,  but  of  a  coarser  quality."  It  is  well  known  that  American 
seed  always  bears  the  highest  price  in  the  Irish  market. 

We  next  look  to  Flanders,  where  flax  was  cultivated  at  a  period  as  early  as 
the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era.*  Fortunately  we  are  furnished  with 
"Directions  for  Cultivating  Flax  al^ter  the  Flanders  Method,"  published  by 
commissioners  and  trustees  appointed  by  the  British  government,  to  promote 
the  linen  trade  in  Scotland,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  the  celebrated  Lord 
Kaimes.  From  this  high  authority  we  find  that  it  was  the  practice  to  sow  seed 
from  Riga,  if  it  could  be  obtained,  otherwise  the  produce  of  Riga  seed  sown  in 
Holland,  and  if  that  could  not  be  had,  that  which  Riga  seed  had  produced  in 
their  own  country — being  careful  to  choose  that  which  had  grown  on  soils  of  a 
difierent  texture  and  quality. 

What  is  the  practice  in  Germany,  where  the  cultivation  is  very  extensive? 
By  a  respectable  British  publication  now  before  me,  in  which  an  account  is 
given  of  the  trade  of  Stettin,  a  city  of  Prussian  Pomerania,  situated  near  the 
mouth  of  the  river  Oder,  if  appears  that  the  extent  of  the  linen  trade  is  esti- 
mated by  the  qaantiiy  of  flaxseed  imported;  and  it  is  stated,  that  on  an  average 
of  ten  )-ears  preceding  1796,  twenty-one  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-five 
tons  of  flaxseed  vrere  annually  imported  into  that  port  to  be  sent  up  the  Oder, 
and  the  waters  connected  with  it,  which,  at  forty  bushels  to  the  ton,  amounts 
to  upwards  of  eig:,t  hundred  thousand  bushels!  sutficient  for  half  a  million 
of  acres  at  the  rate  it  is  sown  in  this  country!  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  large 
quantities  are  imported  into  other  ports  "connected  with  the  large  German 
rivers. 

Foreign  flaxseed  was  sought  after  even  in  the  remote  valleys  of  Switzer- 
land, as  appears  by  the  following  extract  from  a  treatise  on  the  culture  of  flax, 
by  M.  TscHiFFELi,  president  of  the  Economical  Society  of  Berne.  "In  genera], 
the  best  flaxseed  is  produced  on  strong  soils  and  in  cold  climates.  Expe- 
rience has  long  convinced  us,  that  what  is  brought  from  Livonia,  (Riga 
seed,")  is  to  be  preferred  to  all  others,  but  when  this  cannot  be  procured,  we 
must  make  use  of  that  which  grows  on  our  own  mountains,  for  instance,  Ges- 
senaria.  Jura,"  &c. 

A  Flemish  colony  first  settled  the  island  of  Fayal,  and  introduced  flax.  They 
have  become  amalgamated  with  the  Portuguese,  but  the  culture  and  manufac- 

*  Pliny's  Natural  History,  book  19. 
14* 


152  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

tiire  of  linen  in  families  has  continued  to  an  extent  nearh'  equal  to  the  clothing 
and  general  consumption  of  a  very  dense  population.  The  soil  is  mostly  in 
tillage,  and  from  its  elevation  admits  of  a  variety  of  aspect  and  temperature, 
and  great  care  is  bestowed  on  the  culture  of  flax.  I  have  been  informed  by  Mr. 
Dabnet,  the  late  United  States  consul  for  the  Azores,  who  has  resided  fifteen 
years  at  Fayal,  that  in  several  instances  American  seed,  obtained  from  ships 
bound  to  Ireland,  arriving  in  distress,  has  been  sown;  and  the  product  in  flax 
and  seed  has  been  fifty  per  cent,  more  than  that  of  native  growth  by  the  side  of 
it!  We  have  no  information  to  this  point  from  Russia  or  Italy — but  it  is  be- 
lieved that  examples  enough  have  been  cited  to  show  the  importance  attached 
to  this  branch  of  the  system  in  Europe,  and  to  justify  the  conclusion,  that  in  this 
country,  a  continued,  judicious  change  of  seed  will' be  indispensable  to  the  suc- 
cessful prosecution  of  flax  husbandry;  and  a  further  inference  may  be  drawn, 
that  experiments  on  various  soils,  with  seed  the  growth  of  different  climates,  are 
requisite  to  direct  the  farmer  to  the  quarter  from  whence  his  best  seed  maybe 
obtained.  Here  opens  a  legitimate  field  for  our  numerous  agricultural  socie- 
ties to  labour  in;  on  their  exertions  the  farmer  must  depend  in  the  outset;  but 
let  it  once  be  ascertained  that  Riga  seed  is  best  in  one  section,  Dutch  or  Ger- 
man in  others,  and  mercantile  interest,  if  not  patriotism,  will  soon  distribute 
them. 

Soils.  The  soils  which  rank  first  in  this  country,  are  the  fat  bottoms,  that 
are  covered  by  the  fall  and  spring  floods,  which  subside  early  enough  in  the 
season  to  get  in  a  crop;  those  river  flats  on  the  second  banks  that  have  a  depth 
of  strong  alluvial  soil;  the  reclaimed  marshes  and  swamps,  with  a  black  unc- 
tious  soil,  not  too  peaty,  with  £is  much  clay  in  the  composition  as  will  permit  its 
being  rendered  soon  dry  and  mellow,  and  not  retain  water  on  or  near  the  sur- 
face; if  it  stands  two  feet  below,  so  much  the  better,  but  it  must  be  well  guarded 
by  ditches  and  dykes  against  sudden  freshets.  Such  is  the  soil  of  the  province  of 
Zealand,  where  more  flax  is  raised,  and  of  better  quality  than  in  any  other  part 
of  Holland.  The  next  in  estimation  are  the  strong  black  loams  on  clay,  or  hard 
pan  that  will  retain  moisture.  Yellow  loams,  with  a  holding  sub-soil,  may  be 
rendered  suitable  for  flax,  by  proper  cultivation;  and  since  the  discovery  that 
plaster  of  paris  is  an  excellent  manure  for  it,  a  crop  may  be  obtained  with  much 
more  certainty  on  lighter  lands  than  formerly.  Perhaps  the  characteristic  of 
hes\.  garden  mould  may  be  applied  to  a  flax  soil,  viz:  retaining  su^ient  moisture, 
and  all  that  falls,  vnlkout  ever  being  saturated;  but  on  any  soils  the  surface  should 
be  completely  pulverized,  and  never  worked  when  wet. 

Manures.  No  dung  should  be  applied  to  the  land  when  the  flax  is  sown,  but 
it  may  be  put  on  bountifully  with  the  previous  crop.  The  objection  is,  that 
dung  forces  the  growth  so  rapidly,  that  the  plants  draw  up  weak,  ha%-e  a  thin 
harle.  and  are  more  liable  to  lodge.  Lime,  marl,  shells,  leached  ashes.  &c., 
do  not  produce  such  effects.  Top  dressings,  soon  after  the  plants  appear,  of 
plaster,  ashes,  soot,  &c.,  are  highly  beneficial,  as  they  not  only  encourage  the 
growth,  but  are  a  protection  against  worms,  which  sometimes  attack  the  young 
plants,  and  may  be  considered  the  only  enemy  they  have,  except  weeds.  Salt 
has  been  mentioned  by  the  late  Dr.  Eliot,  of  Connecticut,  as  an  excellent  ma- 
nure to  plough  in  with  flax,  at  the  rate  of  five  bushels  to  the  acre;*  probably 
more  would  be  better.  Plaster  is  now  much  used  in  Dutchess  county,  the  best 
cultivated  district  in  New  York,  as  a  manure  for  flax,  on  which  its  good  effects 
are  as  apparent  as  on  corn.  The  late  Chancellor  Livingston  viewed  a  piece 
of  flax  on  the  20th  of  May,  1791,  belonging  to  a  poor  tenant,  very  injudiciously 
sown  on  a  dry  sandy  declivity,  it  looked  so  extremely  sickly,  that  the  tenant 
thought  of  ploughing  it  up;  the  Chancellor  gave  him  three  bushels  of  plaister, 
which  was  sown  the  next  morning  before  the  dew  was  off,  and  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  his  tenant  gather  more  flax  from  this  half  acre,  in  an  uncom- 
mon dry  season,  than  was  produced  from  any  acre  in  the  neighbourhood.t 

Preparation  of  the  land.  It  is  not  unfrequent  in  Ireland  to  obtaia  crops  of 
flax  from  greensward,  on  which  they  put  lime,  shells,  limestone,  gravel,  &c., 


*  See  Eliot's  Essays  on  Field  Husbandry. 

t  Transactions  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  New  York. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  163 

and  harrowing  fine  in  the  spring — but  it  most  commonly  succeeds  a  crop  of 
potatoes  which  receive  the  manure.  In  Flanders,  hemp  was  formerly  more 
used  as  a  preparation  for  flax,  than  since  the  introduction  of  potatoes.  In  Italy 
it  commonly  precedes  flax,  and  although  the  land  gets  no  tillage,  as  the  hemp 
is  well  manured,  it  grows  strong,  and  is  then  a  powerful  destroyer  of  weeds.  In 
England,  on  some  of  the/c;t  soils  of  Lincolnshire,  &c.,  the  usual  course  is  hemp 
two  or  three  years  in  succession,  well  manured,  then  flax  without  manure — a  crop 
of  turnips  is  often  taken  the  same  season  after  the  flax,  and  hemp  succeeds  again. 
In  Russia  it  is  stated  that  extensive  crops  of  flax  are  drawn  from  new  cleared 
lands,  after  burning  them  over,  and  harrowing  in  the  seed  with  the  ashes.  The 
best  preparatory  crops  in  this  country,  at  present,  appear  to  be  potatoes,  corn 
and  roots;  they  will  most  generally  repay  the  extra  manure,  and  if  well  ma- 
naged, check  the  production  of  weeds. 

The  following  rotations  ma)'  serve  as  an  outline,  subject  to  be  varied,  and 
hemp  or  other  crops  introduced,  as  circumstances  may  require,  viz. 

No.  I.    Loiv,  cold,  or  reclaimed  soils. 
1st  year.    Potatoes. 
2d    do.      Flax  with  seeds. 

3d  do.  Herds  grass,  (timothy,)  and  red  top,  or  tall 
meadow  oat  grass,  to  continue  three  years  or  more,  and  the  course  repeated. 

No.  II.     Strong  uplands. 

1st  year.  Potatoes  or  corn. 

2d     do.  Corn  or  roots. 

3d    do.  Flax  with  seeds. 

4th   do.  Clover. 

5th  do.  Orchard  grass  or  timothy,  to  continue  three 
years  or  more. 

No.  III.    Light  lands. 

1st  year.    Potatoes  or  corn. 

2d    do.      Corn  or  roots. 

3d    do.      Flax  with  clover  seed. 

4th  do.  Clover  to  be  mown  once,  the  after  growth  to  be 
turned  in,  and  rye  sown  thick  on  the  furrow,  which  may  be  soiled  or  fed  in  the 
spring  bj'  sheep  or  milch  cows,  and  ploughed  in  for 

5th  year.     Corn. 

6th   do.      Spring  wheat  or  barley. 

7lh  do.  Clover,  and  the  course  to  be  pursued  as  before 
when  flax  will  occupy  the  ground  every  seventh  year.  In  all  cases,  except 
when  hemp  is  substituted,  the  tillage  crops  should  receive  the  dun^. 

If  the  land  is  ploughed  into  beds,  or  convex  ridges,  like  turnpike  roads,  about 
a  rod  wide,  especially  if  low  and  level,  the  crop  will  be  much  more  secure  from 
injury  by  heavy  rains,  and  the  grass  crops  will  be  better  if  it  remains  in  that 
form.  On  any  soils,  fall  ploughing  in  narrow  ridges  will  facilitate  its  early 
working  in  the  spring,  and  should  not  be  dispensed  with. 

Weeding  is  considered  in  Europe,  and  by  good  husbandmen  in  this  country 
as  necessary  to  secure  a  good  crop  of  flax,' which  is  a  very  tender  plant  when 
young,  and  more  easily  checked  in  its  progress  by  weeds  than  any  other.  It  is 
not  supposed  to  be  injured  by  the  clover  and  grass  sown  with  it;  on  the  contrary" 
the  Flemish  farmers  think  them  beneficial,  by  protecting  the  tender  roots  frotri 
drought,  and  keeping  the  weeds  under.  It  should  be  carefully  wed  when  the 
plants  are  three  or  four  inches  high;  they  are  not  then  injured  by  the  labourer 
going  barefooted  over  them. 

Choice  of  seed.  That  of  the  last  year's  growth  should  be  obtained  if  possible. 
The  usual  marks  of  good  seed  are,  that  it  be  plump,  oily  and  heavy,  of  a  bright 
brown  colour,  sinking  readily  in  water,  and  when  thrown  into  the  fire  to  crackle 
and  blaze  quick.  A  very  simple  method  of  trial  is  to  sprinkle  it  thin  between 
two  pieces  of  wet  paper,  which  plunge  in  a  hotbed  or  dunghill,  and  in  less  than 
twenty-four  hours  the  proportion  that  will  vegetate  can  be  discerned,  which 
should  be  ascertained  in  order  to  regulate  the 

Qiuintity  to  be  sow?i.    On  this  head  no  particular  directions  can  be  given  as 


164  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

it  depends  on  the  various  qualities  of  soil,  goodness  of  seed,  &c.  The  rule  for 
seeding  small  grain  is  reversed;  flax  requiring  to  be  sown  thickest  on  rich  soil, 
as  not  more  than  one  stalk  is  wanted  from  a  plant.  In  England  and  Scotland, 
never  less  than  two,  or  more  than  three  bushels  to  the  acre  is  sown.  Two  and 
a  half  is  the  most  usual  portion.  In  Flanders  and  Ireland,  seldom  less  than 
three  bushels  are  sown,  except  when  seed  is  an  object.  Thick  sowing  is  to 
obtain  fine  flax.  In  this  country,  it  will  be  important  at  present  to  sow  at  such 
a  rale  as  will  insure  good  crops  of  each;  and  experience  only  can  determine 
the  exact  point. 

If  sown  very  thin,  too  many  lateral  branches  will  be  thrown  out;  each  pro- 
ducing a  boll,  or  pod,  affording  more  seed,  but  shorter  and  inferior  flax.  If 
sown  too  thick,  the  plants  will  draw  up  weak,  with  a  single  boll  on  a  plant, 
and  subject  as  our  climate  is,  to  heavy  showers  and  thunder  gusts,  very  liable 
to  lodge;  one  of  the  greatest  dangers  a  flax  crop  has  to  encounter.  The  com- 
missioners for  promoting  flax  culture  in  Scotland,  considered  it  as  practicable, 
and  strongly  recommended  that  the  system  should  be  so  conducted  as  to  obtain 
good  flax  and  good  seed  at  the  same  time.  It  is  so  viewed  in  Ireland,  among 
the  more  extensive  cultivators,  except  when  wanted  for  fine  linen,  cambric, 
lawn,  &c.  Dr.  Deane  recommends  from  six  to  seven  pecks.  It  is  probable 
that  six  pecks  is  the  least  and  two  bushels  the  extent  that  should  be  sown,  to 
obtain  the  most  profitable  results. 

Sovnng.  The  seed  should  be  got  in  as  early  as  it  is  possible  to  prepare  the 
ground.  "Dr.  Deane  observes,  that  a  slight  frost  after  the  plants  are  up  will  not 
injure  them.  For  no  crop  is  it  more  important  that  the  seed  should  be  equally 
distributed.  Fortunately,  what  has  long  been  a  desideratum  is  now  attained. 
A  machine  for  sowing  small  seeds  broadcast  with  perfect  regularity,  great  ex- 
pedition, and  in  any  desired  quantity,  has  lately  been  invented,  and  performs 
to  great  satisfaction. 

Pulling.  This  should  be  performed  as  soon  as  the  leaves  begin  to  fall,  and 
the  stalks  show  a  bright  yellow  colour,  and  when  the  bolls  are  turned  a  little 
brown.  The  seed  will  continue  to  ripen  afterwards.  When  the  flax  is  lodged, 
it  should  be  pulled  immediately,  in  any  stage  of  its  growth,  or  it  will  be  entirely 
lost;  great  care  is  requisite  in  sorting  the  different  lengths,  and  keeping  them 
separate  until  after  the  flax  is  hackled,  or  much  waste  will  ensue  in  that  pro- 
cess. 

Savbig  seed.  As  soon  as  the  flax  is  dry  enough  to  be  put  under  cover,  the 
bolls  should  be  rippled,  as  it  is  termed.  By  this  method  the  foul  seeds  are  sepa- 
rated with  little  trouble,  and  good  clean  seed  is  ready  for  an  early  market,  often 
the  best,  without  the  use  of  expensive  machinery  to  make  it  so.  Here  the 
operations  of  the  farmer  ought  to  end.  The  process  of  preparation  being 
foreign  to,  and  unconnected  with  his  other  pursuits,  and  which  has  been  the 
greatest  objection  to  flax  culture.  Can  there  be  any  reason  why  the  farmer  is 
to  prepare  his  flax,  more  than  the  hides  of  his  cattle  which  he  sends  to  the  tan- 
ner'? They  are  both  chemical  processes;  and  to  dissolve  the  glutinous  or  re- 
sinous substances  by  which  the  fibres  are  attached  to  the  stem,  without  impair- 
ing their  strength,  is  perhaps  as  critical,  and  requires  as  much  care  and  judg- 
ment, as  to  extract  the  animal  juices  from  the  hides  and  fill  the  pores  with 
tannin.  In  short  the  flax-grower,  and  flax-preparer  and  dresser,  should 
be  distinct  professions.  They  are  so  in  France.  Flanders  and  Holland,  and 
were  extensively  so  in  Scotland,  where  the  farmer  sold  his  flax  on  the  ground, 
or  in  sheaves  at  his  barn  or  rick. 

Preparation  of  the  Flax.  This  article  cannot  be  complete 
without  a  brief  account  of  the  method  usually  adopted  for  the 
preparation  of  the  flax.  It  will  be  interesting  to  new  beginners 
and  those  who  may  possibly  devote  a  few  acres  to  its  culture. 
When  the  crop  is  ready,  the  plants  are  pulled  up  by  the  roots 
and  laid  in  handsful  alternately  crossing  one  another,  and  left 
upon  the  ground  for  a  few  days  to  wither.  They  are  then 
freed  from  the  capsules  or  seed-vessels,  made  into  small  sheaves, 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS,  165 

which  are  conveniently  tied  by  a  few  stems  of  the  plant  or 
rushes. 

The  separation  of  the  seed-vessels  from  the  stems  is  per- 
formed by  a  process  termed  rippling.  The  rippling  machine 
is  an  implement  somewhat  like  a  comb,  with  iron  teeth  fixed 
upon  a  plank.  Through  these  teeth  the 
stems  are  repeatedly  drawn  by  hand,  and 
thus  the  capsules  or  seed-vessels  are  se- 
parated. The  ripple  is  placed  in  the 
middle  of  a  large  sheet  of  canvass  spread 
upon  the  ground.  There  may  be  two  sets  of  teeth,  as  shown 
in  the  figure  fixed  on  one  plank,  so  that  two  persons  may  work 
at  the  same  time;  and  the  plank  may  be  conveniently  fixed  in 
the  ground  by  a  pin  passed  through  it.  The  capsules  are  pre- 
served, the  seeds  being  either  used  for  sowing  or  bruised  for 
oil.  It  is  at  this  point  that  Mr.  Pomeroy  very  justly  observes, 
that  the  labour  of  the  farmer  should  cease. 

The  next  process  is  to  separate  the  fibres  from  the  stem. 
The  common  method  of  doing  this  is  by  steeping  the  whole 
plant  in  water.  By  this  means  the  softer  parts  of  the  stem 
partially  undergo  the  putrefactive  fermentation,  while  the 
tougher  fibres  of  the  bark  are  not  afiected.  At  a  certain  period 
then,  as  ten  or  twelve  days  before  the  fibrous  part  of  the  bark 
has  become  afiected,  the  plants  are  removed  from  the  water 
and  dried.  After  being  dried  the  stems  become  brittle,  and 
are  easily  separated  by  rubbing  or  beating  from  the  fibrous 
part  of  the  bark,  which  is  the  only  part  employed  in  the  manu- 
facture of  linen.  It  will  appear  that,  if  the  putrefactive  pro- 
cess shall  proceed  too  far,  the  fibrous,  as  well  as  the  mucilagi- 
nous, part  of  the  bark  may  be  affected. 

It  is,  therefore,  a  point  of  practice,  to  allow  the  putrefactive 
process  to  proceed  just  the  length  of  affecting  the  softer  part 
of  the  stem,  without  acting  upon  the  fibrous  part  of  the  bark. 
And  the  usual  manner  of  performing  the  process  of  steeping  is 
the  following: — The  little  sheaves  made  up  after  the  process 
of  rippling,  are  carried  away  to  a  pool  or  tank  containing 
water,  or  into  which  water  may  be  conveyed — and  in  all  cases 
the  water  ought  to  be  clear  and  soft.  The  sheaves  should  be 
placed  in  the  pool  in  a  nearly  upright  position,  the  heads  of 
them  being  uppermost.  They  are  then  kept  under  water  by 
stones  or  other  heavy  substances,  in  such  manner  as  to  prevent 
their  rising  to  the  surface.  They  must  not,  however,  be  com- 
pressed to  the  bottom,  but  merely  so  loaded  as  that  they  shall 
be  kept  below  water. 

The  period  that  flax  ought  to  remain  in  the  water  depends 
on  a  great  variety  of  circumstances;  as,  the  state  of  ripeness  in 


166  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

which  it  was  pulled,  the  quality  and  temperature  of  the  water. 
The  period  of  steeping  to  the  proper  point  must,  therefore,  be 
carefully  watched.  In  warm  weather  eight  days  will  some- 
times suffice;  while  in  other  cases  ten  or  twelve  are  required. 
It  should  be  frequently  examined  with  great  care  after  the 
sixth  or  seventh  da3^  It  is  safer  to  steep  it  too  short  a  period, 
than  ever  so  little  too  loyig.  In  the  first  case,  merely  a  little 
more  time  is  required  in  the  future  processes;  in  the  second, 
the  strength  and  texture  of  the  fibres  maybe  seriously  injured. 

"When  the  flax  is  found  to  be  sufficiently  steeped,  it  is  re- 
moved from  the  pool,  sheaf  by  sheaf,  and  laid  in  heaps  near  the 
watering-place,  until  the  water  has  drained  off".  It  is  then  to 
be  carried  away  to  a  dry  and  airy  grass-plot.  Here  the  sheaves 
are  opened  out,  and  spread  evenly  and  thinly  in  rows  upon 
the  ground,  the  spreaders  working  backwards,  and  causing  the 
butt  ends  of  one  row  to  touch  or  overlap  the  tops  of  the  next, 
with  a  view  to  prevent  as  much  as  possible  its  being  torn  up 
and  scattered  by  the  winds.  In  this  way  the  whole  plot  of 
ground  is  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  flax.  In  this  state  it 
remains  for  a  time,  determined  by  the  state  of  the  weather, 
generally  ten  or  twelve  days,  sometimes  more. 

During  the  further  process  of  rotting,  or  dew-rotting  as  it 
is  termed,  the  dissolution  of  the  soft  part  of  the  stem  is  still 
further  promoted,  and  the  whole  becomes  hard.  When  it  has 
Iain  for  a  sufficient  time,  which  is  known  by  its  being  brittle 
when  rubbed,  and  when  it  is  at  the  same  time  sufficiently  dry, 
it  is  bound  up  again  into  sheaves,  but  larger  than  those  made 
before  the  watering  process.  It  is  allowed  to  remain  in  these 
sheaves  a  sufficient  time  to  dry,  after  which  it  is  carried  home. 
Professor  Low  thinks  the  operations  of  the  grower  of  flax 
terminates  here,  and  that  the  remaining  parts  of  preparation 
are  properly  the  province  of  the  manufacturer.  But  sometimes 
the  manufacture  proceeds  on  the  farm  itself  to  the  extent  of 
partially  separating  the  fibrous  part. 

The  dressing  of  fiax,  which  is 
the  next  process,  consists  of  various 
operations — the  most  common  is 
breaking  the  stems  by  an  instru- 
ment called  a  break.  This  machine 
consists  of  three  triangular  planks 
fixed  together  at  both  ends.  Two 
triangular  planks  are  fixed  to  an- 
other frame.  The  two  frames  are  fixed  together  at  one  end  by 
a  hinge,  and  work  the  one  into  the  other  as  in  figure. 

The  upper  moveable  frame  being  lifted  up,  handsful  of  flax 
held  in  one  hand  are  placed  upon  the  lower  frame,  while  with 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  X67 

the  other  hand  the  upper  frame  is  made  to  work  upon  the  flax 
by  repeated  strokes.  In  this  manner  the  flax  is  bruised,  and 
put  into  a  state  to  have  the  ligneous  refuse  separated  from  the 
fibrous  parts  by  beating  or  scutching,  which  may  be  perform- 
ed either  by  machinery  or  by  manual  labour.  When  by  the 
latter,  the  flax  is  suspended  by  one  hand  over  a  plank,  and  beat 
by  a  flat  piece  of  wood  held  in  the  other  hand.  The  whole 
process  is  tedious  and  laborious;  but  the  inventive  genius  of 
our  countrymen  bids  fair  to  overcome  these  objections.  Ma- 
chines having  been  invented  not  only  to  prepare  it,  but  to 
pull  it  in  the  field. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  that  has  interposed  with  many 
against  the  raising  of  flax,  was  the  great  difiiculty  and  labour 
of  pulling  it;  being  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  severe  and 
laborious  operations  of  the  farm.  But  this  difficulty  is  in  a 
fair  way  of  being  surmounted,  if,  indeed,  it  is  not  already  over- 
come, by  the  invention  of  a  Flax  Pulling  Machine,  by  a  citizen 
of  Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersey.  Of  this  implement,  Ave 
can  say  nothing  from  personal  knowledge  or  observation,  as 
we  have  not  yet  seen  it.  But  it  has  been  tried  by  many  of  the 
first  farmers  in  Hunterdon  and  the  adjacent  counties,  who 
cordially  recommend  it  as  performing  its  work  as  perfectly  as 
can  be  done  by  hand,  and  pulling  many  acres  in  a  day.  It  is 
drawn  by  horses. 

To  complete  the  process,  and  to  get  the  fibres  suited  into 
lengths  so  as  to  be  fitted  for  spinning,  the  lint  goes  to  a  class 
of  persons  whose  province  it  is  to  give  it  this  final  preparation. 
These  are  termed  hecklers.  The  heckler  operates  by  means  of 
a  set  of  numerous  teeth,  placed  vertically  upon  a  board.  The 
flax  is  pulled  repeatedly  through  these  teeth  by  the  hand.  In 
this  way,  and  by  using  heckles  of  different  sets  of  teeth,  the 
workman  sorts  the  lint  into  lengths.  The  refuse  after  this 
operation  is  tow. 

The  produce  of  the  flax  in  fibre,  varies  greatly  with  the  sea- 
son, soil  and  management.  In  Europe,  eight  hundred  pounds 
to  the  acre  are  frequently  obtained;  but  then  very  little  seed  is 
obtained.  We  can  form  no  opinion  as  to  the  probable  average 
of  the  crop  in  this  country — but  it  is  not  so  great  as  in  Europe. 
The  best  cultivators  of  flax  in  Europe  are  the  Flemings,  among 
whom  the  linen  manufacture  took  early  root,  and  who  have 
ever  since  pursued  the  culture  of  flax  with  diligence  and  suc- 
cess. Ireland  ranks  next.  But  many  parts  of  our  country  are 
admirably  adapted  to  its  culture.  The  produce  of  flax  in  seed 
is  generally  from  six  to  eight,  but  sometimes  ranging  as  high 
as  ten  to  twelve  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  seed  is  frequently 
divided  into  three  sorts — the  first  sort  is  reserved  for  seed;  the 


\>,->' 


258  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS 


second  for  bruising  for  oil,  and  the  third  or  refuse  is  employed 
at  once  for  the  feeding  of  cattle. 

The  use  of  flax  in  the  linen  manufacture  is  well  known. 
The  seed  is  crushed  for  oil,  which  is  that  in  common  use 
among  painters — the  cake  or  husk  which  remains  after  the  ex- 
pression of  the  oil,  is  most  excellent  for  fattening  cattle.  Dried 
and  pulverized  it  is  a  good  manure  for  drilled  crops.  The 
seeds,  in  every  form,  are  highly  nutritive;  they  are  frequently 
given  boiled  to  young  animals,  as  calves,  and  to  sick  horses 
and  cows.  By  the  process  of  boiling,  a  jelly  is  formed,  which 
all  herbiverous  animals  will  eat.  For  this  purpose,  the  refuse 
seeds  of  the  flax,  not  suflSciently  good  for  crushing,  is  often 
reserved. 

The  diseases  of  flax  are  few,  and  are  chiefly  the  fly,  which 
sometimes,  though  rarely,  attacks  the  plants  when  young,  the 
mildew,  and  the  rust. 


n.   HEMP. 

Hemp  is  a  plant  of  equal  antiquity  with  the  flax.  It  is  sup- 
posed to  be  of  Asiatic  origin.  It  is  very  generally  diffused  over 
the  world,  and  has  been  used  for  supplying  cordage  and  cloth 
for  a  period  unknown.  It  is  a  very  fine  and  graceful  plant, 
growing  to  a  great  height  on  good  soils.  Mixed  with  corn 
and  other  cultivated  plants,  it  gives  an  air  of  surpassing  rich- 
ness to  the  landscape.  It  is  dicecious,  that  is,  the  male  and 
female  flowers  are  produced  on  different  plants.  The  leaves 
of  the  hemp  are  pow^erfully  narcotic;  its  seeds  are  nourishing, 
and  are  eagerly  consumed  by  birds;  and  they  produce  an  oil 
which  is  used  for  many  purposes  of  the  arts. 

The  uses  of  hemp  are  well  known,  as  well  as  its  great  im- 
portance to  the  navy  for  canvass  and  cordage.  For  this  its 
tough,  durable,  and  elastic  fibres  are  suited  beyond  any  other 
substance  yet  known.  The  supply  of  canvass  and  cordage  for 
our  navy  and  the  commercial  marine  of  the  United  States,  is 
immense;  and  notwithstanding  our  country  is  peculiarly  adapt- 
ed to  the  culture  of  hemp,  its  importance  in  a  national  point  of 
view,  and  the  rich  return  it  makes  to  the  careful  and  judicious 
cultivator,  its  cultivation  has  been  sadly  neglected. 

Soil.  Hemp,  like  flax,  prefers  a  rich  vegetable  soil;  but  it 
is  not  over  nice  in  its  choice,  growing  in  clay,  sand,  or  peat, 
provided  the  land  is  kept  rich  with  manures.  But  the  soils 
most  suitable,  and  always  to  be  preferred  when  possible,  are 
those  of  the  deep  black  putrid  vegetable  kind,  which,  from 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  169 

their  location,  are  slightly  inclined  to  moisture.  Such  soils  are 
abundant  in  the  country,  particularly  in  the  west.  Mellow, 
rich,  clayey  loams  do  well;  and  nothing  answers  better  than 
old  meadow  land.  Hemp,  too,  possesses  the  anomaly  of  grow- 
ing on  the  same  spot  for  successive  years  without  degeneracy. 
Preparation  of  the  ground.  For  hemp,  the  land  may  be 
prepared  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  for  flax.  It  is  all 
important  that  the  ground  be  thoroughly  pulverized.  But 
hemp,  unlike  flax,  may  either  precede  or  follow  a  grain  crop 
in  the  rotation;  and  the  reason  is,  that  while  flax  invariably 
renders  the  land  more  foul,  the  tendency  of  hemp  is  to  smother 
and  choke  all  other  plants.  Grass-seeds  are  not  to  be  sovvn 
with  hemp,  as  they  would  be  destroyed  under  the  shade  of  its 
thick  foliage.  The  land  intended  for  hemp,  should  always  be 
ploughed  in  time  to  receive  the  influence  of  frosts;  and  when 
it  follows  a  grain  crop,  besides  a  deep  ploughing  before  winter, 
it  should  receive  two  or  more  ploughings  in  the  spring,  so  as 
to  reduce  the  soil  to  a  fine  tilth,  and  free  it  of  all  root  weeds  and 
extraneous  substances. 

Seed  and  sowing.  A  certain  crop  cannot  be  calculated  on, 
whatever  may  be  the  culture — unless  the  seed  sown  is  fresh — 
this  may  be  known  by  their  being  heavy  and  of  a  bright 
colour.  The  common  method  of  sowing  hemp  is  broadcast, 
requiring  generally  from  two  to  three  bushels  of  seed  to  the 
acre,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  land.  Hemp  is  well 
suited  to  be  sown  in  rows.  This  method  possesses  many  ad- 
vantages; it  requires  less  seed,  the  plants  are  more  regular, 
allowing  the  intervals  to  be  well  tilled,  and  admitting  air  freely 
to  the  plants.  The  distance  between  the  rows  may  be  thirty 
inches,  which  will  afford  room  for  the  operations  of  the  culti- 
vator. As  hemp  is  more  easily  injured  by  the  frosts  of  spring, 
than  flax,  it  is  sown  later.  The  most  suitable  period  is  per- 
haps from  the  20th  of  April,  to  the  lOlh  of  May. 

In  the  after  culture  of  he?7ip,  the  hand-hoe  and  cultivator 
may  both  be  employed  to  advantage;  the  latter  can  be  used 
only  when  the  row-system  of  cultivation  has  been  adopted. 
In  the  first  hoeing  the  plants  should  be  hoed  out  to  the  distance 
from  one  another  of  a  foot  in  the  rows,  and  after  the  interval 
of  a  month  or  six  weeks,  another  horse  and  hand-hoeing  should 
be  given,  which  will  complete  effectually  the  summer  culture 
of  the  hemp,  if  planted  in  rows.  But  the  common  practice  in 
some  hemp  districts  is  to  sow  broadcast,  hoeing  the  plants  to 
the  distance  from  one  another  of  twelve  or  sixteen  inches,  and 
giving  a  second  hoeing  after  an  interval  of  four  or  six  weeks. 
Some  cultivators  give  no  other  culture  than  to  pull  up  the 
15 


170  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

larger  weeds,  trusting  to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  hemp  to  over- 
top all  kinds  of  plants. 

In  taking  the  hemp  crop  two  methods  are  in  use,  according 
to  the  object  in  view.  When  it  is  grown  entirely  for  its  fibre, 
it  is  pulled  when  in  flower,  and  no  distinction  is  made  between 
the  male  and  female  plants.  But,  as  it  is  most  generally  grown 
Avith  a  view  to  fibre  and  seed,  the  usual  practice  is  to  pull  the 
male  plants  as  soon  as  the  setting  of  the  seed  in  the  females 
shews  that  they  have  efiected  their  purpose.  As  the  female 
plants  require  four  or  five  weeks  to  ripen  their  seeds,  the 
males  are  thus  pulled  so  long  before  them,  making,  as  it  were, 
two  distinct  harvests.*  The  male  plants  are  distinguished 
from  the  female  by  their  producing  numerous  flowers. 

In  the  operation  oi pulling  the  plants,  the  pullers  walk  be- 
tween the  drills,  when  the  row-system  is  adopted;  and,  when 
the  broadcast  is  used,  in  the  furrows  between  tlie  ridges,  and 
stretching  across,  pull  up  the  stalks,  taking  care  not  to  tread 
upon  or  break  down  those  that  are  to  remain.  The  male 
plants  are  easily  known  at  this  time  by  their  yellowish  colour 
and  faded  flowers.  When  pulled,  they  are  tied  in  small 
bunches,  previous  to  being  carried  to  the  pool  to  undergo  the 
process  of  steeping,  as  in  the  case  of  flax. 

When  the  female  plants  have  matured  their  seeds,  which  is 
known  by  the  brownish  colour  of  the  capsules  and  fading  of 
the  leaves,  the  second  pulling  takes  place.  The  plants  are  bound 
in  bunches,  and  set  up  on  end  to  dry,  in  the  same  manner  as 
sheaves  of  wheat — the  whole  are  so  dried  that  the  capsules  can 
be  easily  rubbed  from  the  stalk — the  sheaves  are  slightly 
threshed,  and  thus  the  capsules  are  separated  from  the  stems. 
This  done,  the  plants  are  taken  in  small  bunches  to  the  pool  to 
be  steeped. 

The  produce  of  hemp  in  rough  fibre,  (that  is,  before  heck- 
ling,) varies  exceedingly — from  four  hundred  and  fifty  to  eight 
hundred  pounds  to  the  acre.  The  crop  of  seed  is  not  less 
various  than  the  fibre.  Ten  or  twelve  bushels  are  considered 
as  a  medium  produce;  but  this  quantity  is  often  considerably 
exceeded.  Abraham  Varick,  Esq.,  of  Utica,  New  York,  ex- 
hibited at  the  Fair  of  the  American  Institute  in  1S32,  a  bale  of 
very  superior  rotted  hemp,  containing  four  hundred  and  sixty 
pounds,  raised,  rotted  and  manufactured  by  Dr.  Samuel 
Allen,  of  the  county  of  Lewis.  Speaking  of  the  culture,  &c., 
he  says  the  quantity  produced  will  be  from  three  to  four  tons 
per  acre,  which  will  yield  about  one-sixth  of  clean  hemp  fit  for 
market. 

•  Encyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  article  Hemp,  p.  917. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  17X 

An  eminent  agriculturist,  the  Hon.  Henry  Clay  of  Ken- 
tucky, has  been  at  great  pains  and  expense  to  introduce,  suc- 
cessfully, the  culture  of  hemp  in  the  western  states.  Deem- 
ing the  subject  of  vast  importance,  he  some  time  since  prepared 
an  essay  on  its  cultivation.  It  is  a  complete  treatise  on  the 
manner  of  raising  and  preparing  for  market,  an  article  which 
will  always  most  abundantly  repay  the  persevering  and  en- 
lightened cultivator.  As  the  document  would  gain  nothing  by 
being  curtailed  or  abridged,  we  give  it  entire. 

The  lands  which  produce  it  best,  are  those  which  are  fresh,  or  which  have 
lain  sometime  in  grass  or  clover.  Manuring  is  not  )'et  much  practised. 
Clover  is  used  in  lieu  of  it.  Lands  which  remain  in  clover  four  or  five  years 
without  being  too  constantly  and  closely  grazed,  recover  their  virgin  fertility. 

The  preparation  of  the  ground  for  sowing  the  seed,  is  by  the  plough  and 
horses,  until  the  clods  are  all  sufficiently  pulverized  ur  dissolved,  and  the  sur- 
face of  the  field  is  rendered  even  and  smooth.  It  should  be  as  carefully  pre- 
pared as  if  it  were  designed  for  flax.  This  most  important  point,  too  often 
neglected,  cannot  be  attended  to  too  much.  Scarcely  any  other  crop  better 
rewards  diligence  and  careful  husbandry.  Fall  or  winter  ploughing  is  practis- 
ed with  advantage— it  is  indispensable  in  old  meadoM's,  or  old  pasture  grounds 
intended  for  producing  hemp. 

Plants  for  seed  are  ordinarily  reared  in  a  place  distinct  from  that  in  which 
they  are  cultivated  for  the  lint.  In  this  respect,  the  usage  is  different  from 
that  which  is  understood  to  prevail  in  Europe.  The  seeds  which  are  intended 
to  reproduce  seeds  for  the  crop  of  the  next  year,  are  sowed  in  drills  about  four 
feet  apart.  When  they  are  grown  sufficiently  to  distinguish  between  the  male 
and  female  stalks,  the  former  are  pulled  and  thrown  away,  and  the  latter  are 
thinned,  leaving  the  stalks  separated  seven  or  eight  inches  from  each  other. 
This  operation  is  usually  performed  in  the  blooming  season,  when  the  sexual 
character  of  the  plants  is  easily  discernible;  the  male  alone  blossoming,  and, 
when  agitated,  throwing  ofl"  iarina,  a  yellow  dust  or  flour  which  falls  and 
colours  the  ground,  or  any  object  that  comes  in  contact  with  it.  A  few  of  the 
male  plants  had  better  be  left  scattered  through  the  drill,  until  the  farina  is 
completely  discharged,  for  an  obvious  reason.  Between  the  drills  a  plough  is 
run  sufficiently  often  to  keep  the  ground  free  from  weeds  and  grass;  and  be- 
tween the  stalks  in  each  drill  the  hoe  is  employed  for  the  same  object.  The 
seed  plants  are  generally  cut  after  the  first  smart  frost,  between  the  25th  of 
September  and  middle  of  October,  and  carried  to  a  barn  or  stackyard,  Miiere 
the  seeds  are  easily  detached  by  the  common  thrail.  They  should  be  gathered 
after  a  slight,  but  before  a  severe  frost;  and,  as  they  fallout  very  easily,  it  is 
advisable  to  haul  the  plants  on  a  sled,  and,  if  convenient,  when  they  are  wet. 
If  transported  on  a  cart  or  wagon,  a  sheet  should  be  spread  to  catch  the  seeds 
as  they  shatter  out.  After  the  seeds  are  separated,  the  stalks  which  bore  them 
being  too  large,  coarse,  and  harsh,  to  produce  lint,  are  usually  thrown  away: 
they  may  be  profitably  employed  in  making  charcoal  for  the"  use  of  powder 
mills. 

After  the  seeds  are  threshed  out,  it  is  advisable  to  spread  them  on  a  floor  to 
cure  properly  and  prevent  their  rotting,  before  they  are  finally  put  away  for 
use  the  next  spring.  Seeds  are  not  generally  used,  unless  they  were  secured 
the  fall  previous  to  their  being  sown,  as  it  is  believed  they  will'not  vegetate,  if 
older;  but  it  has  been  ascertained  that,  when  they  are  properly  cured  and  kept 
dry,  they  will  come  up  after  the  first  year.  It  is  important  to  prevent  them 
from  heating,  which  destroys  the  vegetating  property,  and  for  that  purpose 
they  should  be  thinly  spread  on  a  sheltered  floor. 

The  seeds — whether  to  re-produce  seeds  onl}-,  or  the  lint — are  sowed  about 
the  same  time.  Opinions  vary  as  to  the  best  period.  It  depends  a  good  deal 
upon  the  season.  The  plant  is  very  tender  when  it  first  shoots  up,  and  is  af- 
fected by  frost.  Some  have  sowed  as  early  as  the  first  of  April;  but  it  is  gene- 
rally agreed,  that  all  the  month  of  May,  and  about  the  10th  of  it  especially,  is 


172  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

the  most  favourable  time.  An  experienced  and  successful  hemp-grower,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Lexington,  being  asked  the  best  lime  to  sow  hemp,  answer- 
ed, immediately  before  a  rain. — And  undoubted))'  it  is  very  fortunate  to  have 
a  moderate  rain  directly  after  sowing. 

When  the  object  is  to  make  a  crop  of  hemp,  the  seeds  are  sown  broadcast. 
The  usual  quantity  is  a  bushel  and  a  half  to  the  acre;  but  here  again  the  far- 
mers differ,  some  using  two  bushels  or  even  two  and  a  half  Much  depends 
on  the  strength  and  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  care  with  which  it  has  been 
prepared,  as  well  as  the  season.  To  these  causes  may  be  ascribed  the  diver- 
sity of  opinion  and  practice.  The  ground  can  only  sustain  and  nourish  a  cer- 
tain quantity  of  plants;  and  if  that  limit  be  passed,  the  surplus  will  be  smother- 
ed in  the  grov.nh.  When  the  seeds  are  sown,  they  are  ploughed  or  harrowed 
in;  ploughing  is  best  in  old  ground,  as  it  avoids  the  injurious  effect  of  a 
beating  rain,  and  the  consequent  baking  of  the  earth.  It  would  be  also  bene- 
ficial sub^equently  to  roll  the  ground  with  a  heavy  roller. 

After  the  seeds  are  sown,  the  labours  of  the  cultivator  are  suspended,  until 
the  plants  are  ripe,  and  in  a  state  to  be  gathered — every  thing  in  the  interme- 
diate time  being  left  to  the  operations  of  nature.  If  the  season  be  favourable 
until  the  plants  are  sufficiently  high  to  shade  the  ground,  (which  they  will  do 
in  a  few  weeks,  at  six  or  eight  inches  height.)  there  will  be  a  strong  proba- 
bility of  a  good  crop.  When  they  attain  that  height,  but  few  articles  sustain 
the  effect  of  bad  seasons  better  than  hemp. 

It  is  generally  ripe  and  ready  to  be  gathered  about  the  middle  of  August, 
varying  according  to  the  time  of  sowing.  Some  sow  at  different  periods,  in 
order  that  the  crop  may  not  all  ripen  at  the  same  time,  and  that  a  press  of 
labour,  in  rearing  it,  may  be  thus  avoided.  The  maturity  of  the  plant  is  de- 
termined by  the  evaporation  of  the  farina,  already  noticed,  and  the  leaves  of 
the  plant  exhibiting  a  yellowish  hue:  it  is  then  generallj'  supposed  to  be  ripe, 
but  it  is  safest  to  wait  a  few  days  longer.  Very  little  attentive  observation 
will  enable  any  one  to  judge  when  it  is  fully  ripe.  In  that  respect  it  is  a  very 
accommodating  crop;  for  if  gathered  a  little  too  soon,  the  lint  is  not  materially 
injured,  and  it  will  wait  the  leisure  of  the  farmer  some  ten  da)-sor  a  fortnight 
after  it  is  entirely  ripe. 

Two  modes  of  gathering  the  plants  are  practised;  one  by  pulling  them  up 
by  the  roots,  an  easy  operation  with  an  able  bodied  man;  and  the  other  by  cut- 
ting them  about  two  inches  (the  nearer  the  better)  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  Each  mode  has  its  partisans,  and  I  have  pursued  both.  From  a 
quarter  to  a  third  of  an  acre,  is  the  common  task  of  an  average  labourer, 
•whether  the  one  or  the  other  mode  is  practised.  The  objections  to  pulling  are, 
that  the  plants  with  their  roots  remaining  connected  with  them,  are  not  after- 
wards so  easily  handled  in  the  several  operations  which  they  must  undergo; 
that  all  parts  of  the  plant  do  not  rot  equally  and  alike,  when  exposed  to  the  dew 
and  rain;  and,  finally,  thatbeforeyou  put  them  tothebrake,  when  the  rootshould 
be  separated  from  the  stalk,  the  "roots  drag  off  with  it  some  of  the  lint.  The 
objection  to  cutting  is,  that  you  lose  two  or  three  inches  of  the  best  part  of  the 
plant  nearest  the  root.  Pulling,  being  the  ancient  method,  is  most  generally 
practised.  I  prefer,  upon  the  whole,  cutting — and  I  believe  the  number  who 
prefer  it  is  yearly  increasing.  When  pulled,  it  is  done  with  the  hand,  which 
is  better  for  the  protection  of  an  old  leather  glove.  The  labourer  catches 
twenty  or  thirty  plants  together,  with  both  hands,  and,  by  a  sudden  jerk,  draws 
them  up,  without  much  difficult}'.  The  operation  of  cutting  is  performed  with 
a  knife,  often  made  out  of  an  old  scythe,  resembling  a  sickle,  though  not  quite 
so  long,  but  broader.  This  knife  is  applied  much  in  the  same  way  as  the 
sickle,  except  that  the  labourer  stoops  more. 

Whether  pulled  or  cut,  the  plants  are  carefully  laid  on  the  ground,  the 
evener  the  better,  to  cure — which  they  do  in  two  or  three  days  in  dry  weather. 
A  light  rain  falling  on  them  whilst  lying  down,  is  thought  by  some  to  be  bene- 
ficial, inasmuch  as  the  leaves,  of  which  they  should  be  "deprived,  may  be  then 
easier  shaken  off  or  detached.  When  cured,  the  plants  are  set  up  in  the 
field  in  which  they  were  produced,  in  shocks  of  convenient  size,  the  roots  or 
butt  ends  resting  on  the  ground,  and  the  tops  united  above  by  a  band  made  of 
the  plants  themselves.     Previous  to  putting  them  up  in  shocks,  most  cultiva- 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  173 

tors  tie  the  plants  in  small  hand  bundles  of  such  a  size  as  that  each  can  be  con- 
veniently held  in  one  hand.  Before  the  shocks  are  formed,  the  leaves  of  the 
plants  should  be  rapidly  knocked  off  with  a  rough  paddle  or  hooked  stick. 
Some  sulfer  the  plants  to  remain  in  these  shocks  until  the  plants  are  spread 
down  to  be  rotted.  Others,  again,  collect  the  shocks  together  as  soon  as  they 
can  command  leisure,  (and  itls  clearly  best,)  and  form  them  into  stacks.  A 
few  farmers  permit  these  stacks  to  remain  over  a  whole  year,  before  the  plants 
are  exposed  to  be  rotted.  I  have  frequently  done  it  with  advantage,  and  have 
at  this  time  two  crops  in  stacks.  By  remaining  that  period  in  stacks,  the 
plants  go  through  a  sweat,  or  some  other  process,  that  improves  very  much  the 
appearance,  and,  I  believe,  the  quality  of  the  lint,  and  this  improvement  fully 
compensates  the  loss  of  time  in  bringing  it  to  market.  The  lint  has  a  soft  tex- 
ture and  a  lively  hue,  resembling  water-rotted  hemp;  and  I  once  sold  a  box  of 
it  in  the  Baltimore  market  at  the  price  of  Russia  hemp.  In  every  other  re- 
spect, the  plants  are  treated  as  if  they  were  not  kept  over  a  year. 

The  method  of  dew-rotting  is  that  which  is  generally  practised  in  Kentuck-y. 
The  lint  so  prepared  is  not  so  good  for  many  purposes,  and  especially  for  the 
rigdng  of  ships,  as  when  the  plants  have  been  rotted  by  immersion  in  water, 
or,'as  it  is  generally  termed,  water-rotted.  The  greater  value,  and  conse- 
quently higher  price  of  the  article,  prepared  in  the  latter  way,  has  induced 
more  and  more  of  our  farmers  every  year  to  adopt  it;  and,  if  that  prejudice 
were  subdued,  which  every  American  production  unfortunately  encounters, 
when  it  is  first  introduced  and  comes  in  competition  with  a  rival  European 
commodity,  I  think  it  probable  that,  in  a  few  years,  we  should  be  able  o  dis- 
pense altogether  with  foreign  hemp.  The  obstacles  which  prevent  the  gene- 
ral practice  of  water-rotting,  are,  the  want  of  water  at  the  best  season  for  the 
operation,  which  is  the  month  of  September;  a  repugnance  to  the  change  of 
an  old  habit;  and  a  persuasion  which  has  some  foundation,  that  handling  the 
plants,  after  their  submersion  in  water  during  that  month  is  injurious  to  health. 
The  first  and  last  of  these  obstacles  would  be  removed  by  water-rotting  early 
in  the  winter,  or  in  the  spring.  The  only  ditference  in  the  operation,  per- 
formed at  those  seasons  and  in  the  month  of  September,  would  be,  thai  the 
plants  would  have  to  remain  longer  in  soak  before  they  were  sufficiently 
rotted. 

The  plants  are  usually  spread  down  to  be  dew-rotted  from  the  middle  of 
October  to  the  middle  of  December.  A  farmer  who  has  a  large  crop  on  hand, 
puts  them  down  at  different  times  for  his  convenience  in  handling  and  dress- 
ing them.  Autumnal  rotting  is  more  apt  to  give  the  lint  a  dark  and  unsightly 
colour  than  winter  rotting.  The  best  ground  to  expose  the  plants  upon  is 
meadow  or  grass  land,  but  they  are  not  nnfrequently  spread  over  the  same 
field  on  which  they  grew.  The  length  of  time  that  they  ought  to  remain  ex- 
posed, depends  upon  the  degree  of  moisture  and  the  temperature  of  the 
weather  that  prevail.  In  a  very  wet  and  warm  spell  five  or  six  weeks  may  be 
long  enough.  AVhether  they  have  been  sufliciently  rotted  or  not  is  determined 
by  experiment.  A  handful  is  taken  and  broken  by  the  hand  or  applied  to  the 
brake,  when  it  can  be  easily  ascertained,  by  the  facility  with  which  the  lint  can 
be  detached  from  the  stalk,"  if  it  be  properly  rotted.  If  the  plants  remain  on 
the  ground  too  lonsr,  the  fibres  lose  some  of  their  strength,  though  a  few  days 
longer  than  necessary,  in  cold  weather,  will  not  do  any  injury.  If  they  are 
taken  up  too  soon,  that  is  before  the  lint  can  be  easily  separated  from  the 
woody  part  of  the  stalk,  it  is  harsh,  and  the  process  of  breaking  is  difficult  and 
troublesome.  Snow-rotting,  that  is  when  the  plants,  being  spread  out,  remain 
long  enough  to  rot,  (which,  however,  requires  a  greater  length  of  time.) 
bleaches  the  lint,  improves  the  quality,  and  makes  it  nearly  as  valuable  as  if 
it  had  been  water-rotted. 

After  the  operation  of  rotting  is  performed,  the  plants  are  again  collected 
top'ether,  put  in  shocks  or  stacks,  or,  which  is  still  better,  put  under  a  shed  or 
some  covering.  When  it  is  designed  to  brake  and  dress  them  immediately, 
they  are  frequently  set  up  against  some  neighbouring  fence.  The  best  period 
for  breaking  and  dressing  is  in  the  months  of  February  and  March,  and  the 
best  sort  of  weather,  frosty  nights  and  clear  thawing  days.  The  brake  cannot 
be  used  advantageously  in  wet  or  moist  weather.     It  is  almost  invariably  used 

15* 


174  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

in  this  state  out  of  doors  and  without  any  cover,  and  to  assist  its  operation,  the 
labourer  often  makes  a  large  fire  near  it,  which  serves  the  double  purpose  of 
drying  the  plants  and  warming  himself.  It  could  not  be  used  in  damp  weather 
in  a  house,  without  a  kiln  or  some  other  means  of  drying  the  stalks.  For  de- 
scription of  the  brake,  see  chapter  on  Agricultural  Implements. 

T^ie  brake  in  general  use,  is  the  same  hand  brake  which  was  originally  in- 
troduced, and  has  been  always  employed  here,  resembling,  though  longer, 
the  common  flax  brake.  It  is  so  well  known  as  to  render  a  particular  descrip- 
tion of  it,  perhaps,  unnecessary.  It  is  a  rough  contrivance,  set  upon  four  legs 
about  two  and  a  half  feet  high.  The  brake  consists  of  two  jaws  with  slits  in 
each,  the  lower  jaw  fixed  and  immoveable,  and  the  upper  one  moveable,  so  that 
it  may  be  lifted  up  by  means  of  a  handle  inserted  into  a  head  or  block  at  the 
Iron;  end  of  it.  The  lower  jaw  has  three  slats  or  teeth  made  of  tough  white 
oak,  and  the  upper  two,  arranged  horizontally  about  six  inches  apart  in  the 
rear,  and  gradually  approaching  to  about  two  inches  in  front,  and  in  such 
manner  that  the  slats  of  the  upper  jaw  play  between  those  of  the  lower.  These 
slats  are  about  six  or  seven  feet  in  length,  six  inches  in  depth,  and  about  two 
inches  in  thickness  in  their  lower  edges;  they  are  placed  edgeways,  rounded 
a  little  in  their  upper  edges,  which  are  sharper  than  those  below.  The 
labourer  takes  his  stand  by  the  side  of  the  brake,  and  grasping  in  his  left  hand 
as  many  of  the  stalks  as  he  can  conveniently  hold,  with  his  right  hand  he 
seizes  the  handle  in  the  head  of  the  upper  jaw,  which  he  lifts,  and  throwing 
the  handful  of  stalks  between  the  jaws,  repeatedly  strikes  them  by  lifting  and 
throwing  down  the  upper  jaw.  These  successive  strokes  break  the  woody  or 
reedy  part  of  the  stalks  into  small  pieces  or  shoes,  which  fall  ofi"  during  the 
process.  He  qssists  their  disengagement  by  striking  the  handful  against  a 
stake,  or  with  a  small  wooden  paddle,  until  the  lint  or  bark  is  entirely  clean, 
and  completely  separated  from  the  woody  particles. 

Scntc/iing  \o  soften  it  and  strengthen  the  threads,  may  now  be  performed. 
That  process,  however,  is  not  thought  to  be  profitable,  and  is  not,  therefore, 
generally  performed  by  the  grower,  but  is  left  to  the  manufacturer,  as  well  as 
that  of  beating  and  heckling  it.  Scutching  is  done  by  the  labourer  taking  in 
his  left  hand  a  handful  of  the  lint  and  grasping  it  firmly,  then  laying  the  mid- 
dle of  it  upon  a  semi-circular  notch  of  a  perpendicular  board  of  the  .•^catching 
frame,  and  striking  with  the  edge  of  the  scutch  that  part  of  the  lint  which 
hangs  down  on  the  board.  After  giving  it  repeated  strokes,  he  shakes  the 
handful  of  lint,  replaces  it  on  the  notch,  and  continues  to  strike  and  turn  all 
parts  of  it,  until  it  is  sufiiciently  cleansed,  and  the  fibres  appear  io  be  even  and 
straight. 

The  usual  daily  task  of  an  able  bodied  hand  at  the  brake  is  eighty  pounds 
weight,  but  there  is  a  great  difierence  not  only  in  the  state  of  the  weatber,  and 
the  condition  of  the  stalks,  produced  by  the  greater  or  less  degree  in  which  they 
have  been  rotted,  but  in  the  dexterity  with  which  the  brake  is  employed.  Some 
hands  have  been  known  to  break  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred 
pounds  per  day.  The  labourer  ties  up  in  one  common  bundle  the  work  of  one 
day,  and  in  this  state  it  is  taken  to  market  and  sold.  From  what  has  been 
mentioned,  it  may  be  inferred,  as  the  fact  is,  that  the  hemp  of  some  growers  is 
in  a  much  better  condition  than  that  of  others.  When  it  has  been  carelessly 
handled  or  not  sufficiently  cleansed,  a  deduction  is  made  from  the  price  by  the 
purchaser.  It  is  chiefly  bought  in  our  villages,  and  manufactured  into  cotton 
bagging,  bales,  and  other  kinds  of  untarred  cordage.  The  price  is  not  uni- 
form. The  extremes  have  been  as  low  as  three,  and  as  high  as  eight  dollars, 
for  the  long  hundred — the  customary  mode  of  selling  it.  The  most  general 
price,  during  a  term  of  many  years,  has  been  from  four  to  five  dollars.  At 
five  dollars  it  compensates  well  the  labour  of  the  grower,  and  is  considered 
more  profitable  than  any  thing  else  the  farmer  has  cultivated.  The  most 
heavy  labour  in  the  culture  of  hemp,  is  pulling  or  cutting  it  when  ripe,  and 
breaking  it  when  rotted.  This  labour  can  easily  be  performed  b)-  men. 
Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  improve  the  process  of  breaking,  which 
is  the  severest  work  in  the  preparation  of  hemp. 

A  newly  invented  machine  was  erected  for  that  purpose  on  my  farm  six  or 
eight  years  ago,  to  dress  hemp  by  dispensing  with  rotting  altogether,  similar 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS,  175 

in  structure  to  one  which  was  exhibited  about  the  same  time  at  Columbus, 
during  the  sitting  of  the  Ohio  legislature.  It  was  worked  by  horse  power,  and 
detached  the  lint  tolerably  well,  producing  a  very  fine  looking  article,  equal- 
ling in  appearance  Russia  hemp.  A  ton  of  it  was  sold  to  the  nav)^  department, 
which  was  manufactured  into  rigging  for  the  ship  of  the  line  the  North  Caro- 
lina, prior  to  her  making  a  voyage  of  three  years  in  the  Mediterranean.  Upon 
her  return,  the  cordage  was  examined  and  analyzed;  and,  although  its  exte- 
rior looked  very  well,  it  was  found  on  opening  it,  to  he  decayed,  and  affected 
somewhat  like  the  dry  rot  in  wood.  I  considered  the  experiment  decisive; 
and  it  is  now  believed  that  the  process  of  water  or  dew-rotting  is  absolutely 
necessary,  either  before  or  after  the  hemp  has  been  to  the  brake.  There  is  a 
sappy  or  glutinous  property  of  which  it  should  be  divested,  and  that  is  the 
only  process  that  has  been  hitherto  generally  and  successfully  employed  to 
divest  it. 

An  ingenious  and  enterprising  gentleman  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lexing- 
ton, has  been,  ever  since  the  erection  of  the  above  mentioned  machine,  trying 
various  experiments,  by  altering  and  improving  it,  to  produce  one  more  per- 
fect, which  might  be  beneficially  employed  on  rotted  hemp,  to  diminish  the 
labours  of  the  brake.  He  mentioned  the  other  day  that  all  of  them  had  failed; 
that  he  had  returned  to  the  old  hand  brake,  and  that  he  was  convinced  that  it 
anstt^ered  the  purpose  better  than  any  substitute  with  which  he  was  acquaint- 
ed. I  observe  Mr.  H.  L.  Barncm  has  recently  advertised  a  machine,  which  he 
has  constructed  for  breaking  hemp  and  flax,  which  can  be  procured  at  the  es- 
tablishment of  Mr.  Smith,  in  Cincinnati.  I  most  cordially  wish  him  success; 
but  the  number  of  failures  which  I  have  witnessed,  during  a  period  of  thirty 
years,  in  the  attempts  to  supersede  manual  labour  by  the  substitution  of  that 
of  machines,  induces  me  to  fear  that  it  will  be  long  before  this  desideratum  is 
attained. 

The  quantity  of  nett  hemp  produced  to  the  acre,  is  from  six  hundred  to  a 
thousand  weight,  varying  according  to  the  fertility  and  preparation  of  the  soil, 
and  the  state  of  the  season.  It  is  said  that  the  quantity  which  any  field  will 
produce,  may  be  anticipated  by  the  average  height  of  the  plants  throughout 
the  field.  Thus — if  the  plants  will  average  eight  feet  in  height,  the  acre  will 
yield  eight  hundred  weight  of  hemp,  each  foot  in  height  corresponding  to  a 
hundred  weight  of  the  lint. 

Hemp  exhausts  the  soil  slowly,  if  at  all.  An  old  and  successful  cultivator 
told  me  that  he  had  taken  thirteen  or  fourteen  successive  crops  from  the  same 
field,  and  that  the  last  was  the  best.  That  was  probably,  however,  owing  to  a 
concurrence  of  favourable  circumstances.  Nothing  cleanses  and  prepares  the 
earth  better  for  other  crops  (especially  for  small  grain  or  grasses)  than  hemp. 
It  eradicates  all  weeds,  and  when  it  is  taken  ofi',  leaves  the  field  not  only  clean, 
but  smooth  and  even. 

Water  rotting  of  hemp  is  performed  in  England,  and  we 
believe  throughout  Europe,  in  the  following  manner.  The 
bunches  are  placed  in  the  pools  in  rows,  crossing  one  another, 
and  pressed  down  by  some  heavy  substance,  so  as  to  prevent 
their  rising  to  the  surface;  special  care  being  at  the  same  time 
taken  that  they  are  not  so  loaded  as  to  be  pressed  down  to  the 
bottom.  If  the  weather  be  warm,  four  or  five  days  will  fre- 
quently be  sufficient;  if  not,  two  or  three  more:  the  period  is 
denoted  by  the  stem  being  so  softened  that  the  outside  coat 
shall  come  easily  off.  Care  must  be  taken,  as  in  the  case  of 
flax,  that  the  putrefactive  process  does  not  proceed  so  far  as  to 
injure  the  cortical  fibres.  The  quantity*  placed  in  one  pool 
may  be  the  produce  of  an  acre;  but  it  is  better  that  the  quan- 
tity be  small  and  the  pits  shallow.      When  thus  steeped,  it  is 


X76  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

like  flax  taken  out  of  the  pool — and  the  plants  spread  singly 
and  regularly  on  a  plot  of  sward. 

When  hemp  is  thus  spread  out,  it  generally  lies  from  four 
to  six  weeks  on  the  surface,  subject  to  the  influence  of  the 
rains  and  dews,  by  which  the  decomposition  of  the  ligneous 
part  of  the  stem  is  promoted,  and  is  rendered  hard  and  brittle. 
It  is  to  be  carefully  turned  over  two  or  three  times  a  week. 
When  fit  for  removal,  it  is  re-bound  in  bunches,  and  carried 
to  the  barn,  where  it  undergoes  the  process  of  bruising  by  the 
machine  called  a  break,  as  in  the  case  of  flax.  After  the  hemp 
has  undergone  the  process  of  breaking,  it  generally  passes  into 
the  hands  of  various  artisans.  The  first  operation  is  that  of 
heckling,  either  by  hand  or  machinery.  It  is  first  beat,  and 
then  dressed  by  means  of  fixed  heckles  resembling  those  used 
for  flax.  Arranged  into  sorts  and  parcels  to  suit  purchasers, 
it  then  passes  into  the  hands  of  the  spinner,  the  weaver,  and 
of  the  bleacher.  But  the  operations  are  all  frequently  per- 
formed on  a  small  scale  on  the  farm. 


III.    COTTON. 

Cotton  is  the  great  staple  of  the  United  States,  affording  the 
rich  mine  from  which  we  draw  the  means  of  paying  for  the 
enormous  quantity  of  the  productions  of  foreign  art  now  neces- 
sary, in  consequence  of  long  and  improper  indulgence,  to  the 
daily  comfort  of  almost  all  classes  of  our  population.  Its  his- 
tory is  replete  with  interest.  Eli  Whitxet,  a  native  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, w^ho  settled  in  Georgia  as  a  tutor,  about  the  year 
1792,  gave  to  the  cotton  culture  its  first  mighty  impulse  by  the 
invention  of  a  machine — the  American  Saw-gin — by  which 
the  seed  is  separated  from  the  fibre  perfectly,  and  with  the  most 
astonishing  rapidity.  This  invention  was  not  the  result  of  ac- 
cident, but  the  result  of  systematic  application,  of  earnest 
thought  and  powerful  mechanical  genius. 

Of  what  country  cotton  is  a  native  is  not  known.  There  are 
different  species  of  the  plants,  but  all  are  natives  of  warm  cli- 
mates. The  word  or  term  cotton  is  said  to  be  of  Arabic  origin. 
The  plant  w^hich  produces  the  down,  called  "coiton,"  is  of  three 
or  four  general  varieties — the  tree  or  shrub,  the  annual,  herba- 
ceous, &c.  The  kinds  chiefly  cultivated  now,  and  especially  in 
the  United  States,  are  the  latter.  The  Sea  Island  cotton  is 
grown  to  some  extent  in  Georgia,  South  Carolina  and  Florida. 

It  is  difficult  to  trace  back  with  accuracy  its  earliest  cultiva- 
tion.    It  is  found  indigenous  in  South  America  and  in  parts  of 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  177 

Africa;  and  the  chief  clothing  of  the  inhabitants  of  South  Ame- 
rica and  Mexico,  was  of  cotton  when  the  continent  was  first 
discovered  by  the  Spaniards.  It  was  probably  grown  and  used 
largely  in  Arabia,  India,  America  and  Africa  by  the  ancients. 
In  China,  its  cultivation  began  in  the  13th  century,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  manufacture,  though  previously  raised  in  gardens  for 
ornament.  In  the  West  Indies,  cotton  was  grown  first  in  1776, 
at  St.  Domingo,  but  earlier  in  other  islands.  It  was  first  planted 
or  cultivatedin  Brazil  in  17Sl,for  exportation.  In  1786,  cot- 
ton was  first  grown  in  the  United  States,  and  the  first  exporta- 
tion, of  which  we  have  any  account,  was  in  the  year  1770,  of 
foreign  growth,  when  five  bales  or  bags  were  exported.  The 
first  exportation  of  native  growth  took  place  in  1791. 

The  capital  employed  "in  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in  the 
United  States,  is  estimated  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at 
nine  hundred  and  eighteen  millions  of  dollars.  It  includes  two 
millions  of  acres  of  "land  devoted  to  the  culture  of  cotton;  at 
twenty  dollars  per  acre;  three  hundred  and  forty  thousand  field 
hands,  with  the  lands,  stock,  and  labour  necessary  to  maintain 
them,  &c.  The  estimate  of  the  number  of  labourers  is  based 
upon  the  supposition  of  one  field  labourer  to  every  six  acres  of 
cotton.  Some,  however,  think  that  as  many  as  five  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  hands  are  employed;  but  all,  not  constantly, 
in  the  cotton  culture. 

The  quantity  exported  in  1790,  was  four  hundred  thousand; 
in  1791,  two  hundred  thousand;  and  in  1792,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  pounds.  Its  diminution  even  in  the  last  two 
named  years,  furnishing,  even  in  the  absence  of  all  other  testi- 
mony, the  most  conclusive  evidence  of  the  difliculty  of  prepar- 
ing the  commodity  for  market.  In  1795,  after  the  saw-gin 
had  begun  to  operate  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  export  was 
six  millions  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds.  From  this 
period,  the  exportation  has  gradually  increased  to  its  present 
extent — being  in  the  year  1835,  the  last  year  stated  by  Secre- 
tary Woodbury,  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  millions  five 
hundred  thousand  pounds.  From  other  authentic  sources  we 
have  ascertained  that  the  exports  of  1836,  was  upwards  of 
four  hundred  and  tvventy-three  millions  of  pounds. 

The  whole  of  the  exportation  of  cotton  from  the  United 
States,  during  the  first  three  years  before  stated,  (1790-1-2,) 
would  hardly  suffice  for  the  cargo  of  a  single  ship  of  the  size 
now  usually  employed  in  freighting  it  to  Europe;  while,  in 
1836,  if  we  add  to  the  quantity  exported  that  used  in  the 
middle  states  for  domestic  purposes  and  our  extensive  manu- 
factures, which  cannot  be  fairly  estimated  at  less  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  millions  of  pounds,   the  aggregate 


178  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

would  not  fall  far  short  of  enough  to  freight  a  thousand  such 
ships.  Such  a  wonderful  increase  in  the  production  of  a  single 
article,  within  so  short  a  period,  cannot  fail  to  fill  the  mind 
with  astonishment. 

The  late  Pierce  Butler,  Esq.,  one  of  the  most  successful 
cotton  growers,  left  the  following  directions  for  its  culture: 

"If  the  land  has  been  recently  cleared,  or  has  long  remained  fallow,  turn  it 
lip  deep  in  winter;  and  in  the  first  week  in  March  bed  it  up  in  the  following 
manner:  Form  twenty-five  beds  in  one  hundred  and  five  square  feet  of  land; 
(bein?  the  space  allotted  to  each  labourer  for  a  day's  work;)  this  leaves  about 
four  feet  two  and  one  half  inches  from  the  centre  of  one  bed  to  the  centre  of 
the  next.  The  beds  should  be  three  feet  wide,  flat  in  the  middle.  About  the 
15th  of  March,  in  latitude  from  twentj--nine  to  thirty  degrees,  the  cultivator 
should  commence  sowing,  or,  as  it  is  generally  termed,  planting.  The  seed 
should  be  well  scattered  in  open  trenches,  made  in  the  centre  of  the  beds,  and 
covered.  The  proportion  of  seed  is  one  bushel  to  one  acre;  this  allows  for  ac- 
cidents occasioned  bv  worms  or  night  chills. 

"The  cotton  should  be  well  weeded  by  hoes  once  every  twelve  days  till  blown, 
and  even  longer  if  there  is  grass,  observing  to  hoe  up,  that  is,  to  the  cotton,  till 
it  pods,  and  hoe  down  when  the  cotton  is  blown,  in  order  to  check  the  growth 
of  the  plant.  From  the  proportion  of  seed  mentioned,  the  cotton  plants  will 
come  up  plentifullv,  too  much  so  to  suffer  all  to  remain.  They  should  be 
thinned  moderately  at  each  hoeing.  When  the  plants  have  got  strength  and 
growth,  which  may  be  about  the  third  hoeing,  to  disregard  worms  and  bear 
drought,  they  should  be  thinned,  according  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  from  six 
inches  to  near  two  feet  between  the  stalks  or  plants. 

"In  rich  river  grounds,  the  beds  should  be  from  five  to  six  feet  apart,  mea- 
suring from  centre  to  centre;  and  the  cotton  plants,  when  out  of  the  way  of  the 
worms,  from  two  to  three  feet  apart.  It  is  advisable  to  top  cotton  once  or  twice 
in  low  grounds,  and  also  to  remove  the  suckers.  The  latter  end  of  July  is  ge- 
nerall)'  considered  a  proper  time  for  topping.  Gypsum  may  be  used  with  suc- 
cess on  cotton  lands  not  near  the  sea.  In  river  grounds  draining  is  proper;  yet 
these  lands  should  not  be  kept  too  dry.  In  tide  lands  it  is  beneficial  to  let  the 
■water  flow  over  the  land  without  retaining  it.  In  river  lands  a  change  of  crops 
is  necessary.  From  actual  experiment  it  has  been  proved  that  river  tide  lands, 
having  the  preceding  year  had  rice  sown  on  them,  yielded  much  more  cotton 
the  succeeding  year  than  they  would  have  aiforded  by  a  continuation  of  cotton. 
The  mere  growing  of  cotton  is  but  a  part  of  the  care  of  the  planter;  very  much 
depends  on  classing  and  cleansing  it  for  market,  after  it  has  been  housed. 
Sorting  it  before  it  goes  to  the  jennies,  moteing  and  removing  any  yellow  par- 
ticles, are  essential  to  assure  a  preference  at  a  common  market  of  competi- 
tion." 

The  twin  or  ohra  cotton.  The  following  interesting  par- 
ticulars respecting  this  new  and  favourite  species,  are  detailed  in 
a  letter  from  an  eminent  planter:  "The  discovery  of  it  appears 
to  have  been  entirely  accidental.  A  gentleman  of  Autauga, 
Alabama,  a  few  years  ago  bought  some  Petit  Gulf  seed;  in  a 
field  sown  with  this  seed,  a  single  stalk  was  observed  without 
limbs,  and  having  a  great  number  of  bolls  adhering  immediately 
to  the  stalk,  or  in  clusters  on  very  short  limbs.  From  these 
seeds  the  variety  has  been  propagated.  In  1837,  the  seeds  sold 
as  high  as  fifty  cents  a  piece;  last  fall  one  hundred  and  sixty 
dollars  was  paid  for  a  bushel.  The  plant  exhibits  a  distinct 
variety;  the  stalk  had  rarely  any  limbs  longer  than  one  joint, 
sometimes  two;  the  bolls  were  two,  three,  and  sometimes  seven 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  179 

in  a  cluster;  the  stems  of  the  bolls  shooting  from  one  place,  and 
at  the  top  of  the  short  limb.  The  cotton  is  exceedingly  fine, 
being  from  two  to  four  cents  a  pound  better  than  ordinary;  the 
colour  and  staple  of  the  wool  is  described  as  very  superior,  and 
unequalled  by  the  finest  and  softest  short  staple.  Another  ad- 
vantage of  this  variety  is,  that  it  comes  to  maturity  and  opens 
two  weeks  earlier  than  common;  in  rich  land  the  stalk  grows 
quite  tall,  reaching  as  high  as  six  or  eight  feet;  the  luxuriant 
growth  of  the  plant  in  fertile  soils  may  render  topping  necessary ; 
its  appearance  is  very  much  like  the  common  okra,  having  a 
similar  stalk,  with  common  leaves.  If  the  anticipations  indulged 
respecting  this  lately  discovered  variety  of  the  cotton  plant  are 
ever  realized,  the  success  of  the  experiment  must  add  im- 
mensely to  the  agricultural  wealth  of  Louisiana,  Mississippi, 
and  other  southern  states." 

It  is  thought  by  many,  and  indeed  it  is  proved  by  the  expe- 
rience of  those  who  have  ventured  on  the  process,  that  the  ap- 
plication of  salt,  as  a  manure,  has  a  highly  beneficial  influence 
upon  the  growth  of  the  plant.  A  correspondent  of  the  Southern, 
Cultivator  says, 

Last  year  I  planted  a  piece  of  land  containing  fifty  acres.  It  had  never  be- 
fore produced  well.  I  should  state  that  ten  acres  of  it  was  new  land,  never 
planted  before.  The  balance,  forty  acres,  had  been  planted  for  many  years 
previous.  I  had  several  times  manured  it  with  compost  manure.  The  cotton 
grew  well  on  it;  but,  except  in  a  very  prime  season,  I  could  never  get  the  plants 
to  retain  their  fruit.  I  had  heard  of  the  etScacy  of  salt-mud,  and  salt-marsh; 
but  as  I  could  procure  neither  of  these,  except  with  great  trouble,  I  determined 
to  try  common  salt.  I  did  so;  and  my  mode  of  doing  it  was  as  follows:  I  ap- 
plied one  bushel  to  each  acre,  spreading  it  in  the  alley,  and  then  listing  upon 
it.  The  effect  upon  the  cotton  was  highly  beneficial.  From  its  shooting  forth 
until  the  time  I  picked  it  in,  it  exhibited  a  healthy  and  vigorous  growth,  and  my 
product  of  cotton  was  greater  and  better  than  I  had  ever  known  it.  It  is  enough 
for  me  to  state,  that  the  same  land  had  never  before  produced  me  more  than 
one  hundred  pounds  of  cotton  to  the  acre.  It  now  gave  me  one  hundred  and 
thirty.  On  the  new  ground,  the  effect  was  manifest.  I  had  never  planted  new 
ground  before,  for  the  first  year,  without  the  cotton  all  running  to  stalk.  It 
now  grew  well,  and  produced  me,  at  the  least  calculation,  one  himdred  and 
fifty  pounds  of  clean  cotton  to  the  acre. 


180 


IX.— PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  OILS. 

The  plants  most  generally  cultivated  for  their  oils,  are,  1. 
The  rape,  and  other  plants  of  the  cabbage  genus.  2.  The  mus- 
tard and  radish.  3.  Hemp  and  flax.  4.  The  poppy.  The 
oils  which  these  plants  yield,  are  obtained  by  bruising  or  crush- 
ing their  seeds,  which  operation  is  performed  in  a  great  variety 
of  ways — they  are  termed  fixed  oils.  There  is  another  class  of 
oils  obtained  by  distillation,  termed  volatile  oils.  These  last 
are  yielded  mostly  by  plants  of  the  mint  family — but  the  plants 
producing  them  are  rarely  the  subjects  of  cultivation  on  the 
large  scale.  Our  chief  oil  plant  is  the  flax.  The  growing  of 
the  oil  plants  form  an  important  part  of  the  agriculture  of 
many  countries. 

The  method  of  cultivating  this  plant — the  flax — for  its  fibre, 
has  been  pretty  fully  described;  and  there  is  no  other  difference 
in  the  manner  of  cultivating  it  for  its  seeds,  than  permitting  the 
plant  to  stand  until  the  seeds  are  fully  ripe.  The  seeds  are 
bruised  in  the  same  manner  as  those  of  the  other  oleaginous 
plants.  The  refuse,  after  expression,  is  termed  oil-cake,  and 
forms  a  nutritive  food  for  cattle.  The  mills  used  for  bruising 
the  seeds  in  man}^  parts  of  the  country,  are  constructed  on  very 
simple  principles.  More  perfect  machinery  is  necessary.  The 
seeds  of  hemp,  in  like  manner,  yield  oil,  which  is  employed 
for  nearly  the  same  purposes  as  the  oil  of  flax.  But  the  pre- 
paration of  the  flax  and  expression  of  the  oil,  should  form  a 
distinct  profession — they  do  not  of  right  belong  to  the  labours 
of  the  farm,  although  sanctioned  by  an  almost  universal  prac- 
tice. 

I.    RAPE. 

Rape  is  now  considered  as  the  principal  oil  plant  of  Europe 
— and  is  cultivated  on  a  very  extensive  scale,  especially  in  Eng- 
land, Holland,  the  Netherlands,  Germany  and  France.  It  is 
a  plant  admirably  adapted  to  this  country.  About  the  year 
1823  or  1S24,  an  English  gentleman  cultivated  it  to  some  con- 
siderable extent  in  the  county  of  Philadelphia,  but  for  some 
reason,  never  yet  fully  explained,  it  was  discountenanced  by 
our  farmers.  From  one  bushel  of  the  seed  a  gallon  of  fine  and 
superior  oil  was  extracted  which  sold  readily  for  one  dollar. 
The  manner  of  cultivating  the  rape  has  been  already  described. 
[Page  152.] 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  J  81 

Among  the  various  plants  which  may  be  cultivated  by  the 
farmer  as  oil  plants,  ^re  all  the  species  of  the  Brassica  family 
— the  Sinapis,  or  mustard  genus — the  Raphaims,  or  radish 
genus,  with  many  others  of  the  natural  order  of  cruciferea.  Of 
the  genus  Sinapis,  either  the  white  or  the  black  species  may  he 
sown.  The  black  mustard,  Sinajns  nipii,  is  the  species  usually 
cultivated  for  that  well  known  and  useful  condiment — mustard. 
But  the  white  species,  Sinapis  alba,  being  more  productive  in 
pods,  and  less  liable  to  injury  from  insects,  is  better  calculated 
for  the  production  of  oih  The  Raphanvs,  or  radish,  is  equally 
suited  to  yield  oils  as  the  mustard.  It  should  be  cultivated  in 
rows,  and  sufficient  room  given  to  it.  It  flowers  and  bears 
seeds  for  a  long  time  during  the  season,  but  no  difficulty  exists 
in  knowing  the  proper  period  for  gathering. 

The  Sinall  or  Field  Poppy,  as  well  as  the  ')naw  seed,  a 
variety  of  the  garden  poppy,  is  extensively  cultivated  on  the 
continent  of  Europe — and  to  some  small  extent  in  various  parts 
of  our  country,  as  affording  an  oil  well  suited  for  domestic  uses 
— it  being  esteemed  in  domestic  economy  next  to  that  of  the 
olive.  The  soil  for  the  poppy  requires  to  be  well  pulverized 
and  manured.  In  Flanders  this  point  is  especially  attended  to. 
It  frequently  succeeds  rape,  in  the  rotation,  manure  being  ap- 
plied to  both.  It  is  cultivated  in  rows,  sown  in  April,  and  the 
plants  thinned  out  to  six  or  eight  inches  distance  from  each 
other;  kept  free  of  weeds  till  they  begin  to  run.  The  capsules 
as  the}'  ripen  are  gathered  by  hand,  and  dried  in  the  sun. 

The  Sun-flower — Helianthus  annuus — is  a  native  of  Ame- 
rica, easily  cultivated,  and  familiar  to  us  all  as  one  of  our 
most  majestic  and  beautiful  garden  flowers.  Its  value  as  an 
oil  plant  has  been  known  for  at  least  a  century,  yet  strange  to 
say,  very  little  care  or  systematic  attention  has  been  devoted 
to  it.  Of  its  value  no  doubt  is  entertained;  and  that  it  may 
be  cultivated  to  a  profit,  is  certainly  as  clear.  The  "Farmers' 
Assistant" — which  is  considered  as  high  authority,  says,  that 
the  seeds  of  the  sun-flower  afford  an  oil  equal  to  that  of  the 
olive-tree;  and  that  seventy  bushels  of  seed  may  be  raised 
to  the  acre.  The  seeds  are  good  for  poultry  during  the  winter 
season.  The  editor  further  states,  but  not  on  his  own  au- 
thority, that  a  "bushel  of  the  seed  will  produce  a  gallon  of 
oil,  as  fine  as  the  best  imported  Florence,  and  may  be  obtained 
at  any  time  from  the  seeds,  quite  soft,  bland,  and  fresh,  and 
that  the  mass  remaining  after  pressing  out  the  oil,  is  of  excel- 
lent use  to  feed  hogs,  poultry,"  &c.  There  are  various  other 
uses  to  which  the  plant  may  be  appropriated. 

In  France,  and  other  foreign  countries,  the  stems  are  em- 
ployed for  fuel,  pea-sticks,  &c.,  and  the  leaves  for  fodder.  A 
16 


182  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

writer  in  the  Farmers'  Register,*  after  observing  that  he  had 
cultivated  the  plant  for  several  years,  says,  "about  the  time  my 
long  forage  gives  out,  these  (the  sun-flower)  begin  to  bloom. 
As  the  blossoms  appear,  I  cut  them  off  about  a  foot  from  the 
ground  and  give  them  to  my  horses,  which  eat  them  very  readi- 
ly— leaves,  buds,  stalks  and  all.  This  I  consider  a  very  whole- 
some as  well  as  nutritious  food."  The  plants  to  which  this  writer 
refers  were  raised  along  the  fences  leading  to  his  homestead, 
instead  of  suffering,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  such  spaces  to  be 
occupied  and  overrun  with  noxious  weeds,  to  the  great  injury 
of  the  adjacent  fields. 

The  sun-flower  requires  a  good  soil — well  manured,  tho- 
roughly worked,  and  perfectly  cleaned.  The  seeds  are  to  be 
sown  in  rows,  early  in  the  spring,  the  rows  two  feet  asunder. 
The  distance  between  the  plants  in  the  rows  should  be  twelve 
to  fifteen  inches.  They  require  but  very  little  care  or  atten- 
tion after  they  have  acquired  strength — but  it  is  nevertheless 
indispensable  to  keep  the  ground  free  of  weeds.  The  proper 
period  of  gathering  the  seeds  is  when  fully  ripe,  and  cannot  be 
mistaken. 

Another  of  the  oleaginous  plants  is  the  American  Earth- 
nut — Arachis  hypogcea — which  is  found  wild  and  in  great 
abundance  in  some  parts  of  the  southern  states,  of  which  it  is  a 
native.  It  is  cultivated  in  the  south  of  Europe,  and  has  been 
made,  with  special  care,  to  ripen  its  seeds  in  the  latitude  of 
Paris.     It  is  remarkable  for  ripening  its  seeds  under  ground. 

*  Vol.  vi.,  page  208,  published  at  Petersburg,  Virginia,  by  E.  Rofpik,  Esq. 


183 


X.— PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  DYES. 

The  Madder,  Rubia  tinctorum.  The  Woad,  Isatis  tinc- 
toria — and  the  Weld,  Reseda  Luteola — are  the  plants  usually- 
cultivated  on  the  large  scale  for  their  dyes;  in  the  north  of  Eu- 
rope; but  innumerable  other  plants  yield  those  beautiful  sub- 
stiances,  and  are  partially  cultivated.  The  plants  above  desig- 
nated are  useful  in  a  rotation  of  crops,  and  are  adapted  to  our 
climate. 

I.    MADDER. 

Madder  is  the  Evythros  of  the  Greeks,  and  the  Rubia  of 
the  Latins — so  called  from  its  imparting  a  fine  durable  red 
colour  to  wool,  leather,  &c.  It  is  cultivated  in  the  Levant, 
France,  Flanders  and  England;  but  no  where  more  extensively 
or  profitably  than  in  Holland;  the  province  of  Zealand  is  lite- 
rally covered  with  it,  from  whence  it  is  imported  to  every  part 
of  Europe  and  America.  The  little  island  of  Schowen  alone 
gives  annually  one  hundred  thousand  tons  of  the  root.  The 
profit  of  its  culture  is  immense — almost  incalculable. 

It  has  a  perennial  root,  and  an  annual  stalk.  The  root  is 
composed  of  large  succulent  fibres  which  strike  deep  into  the 
ground,  sometimes  more  than  three  feet.  From  the  upper  part, 
or  head  of  the  root,  many  side  roots  are  thrown  out,  which  ex- 
tend just  under  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  a  great  distance, 
%vhereby  it  propagates  very  fast — for  these  send  up  a  great 
number  of  shoots,  which,  if  carefully  taken  off  in  the  spring 
soon  after  they^  appear  above  ground,  become  so  many  plants. 

The  most  suitable  soils  for  the  madder  crop  are  deep,  fertile, 
sandy  loams,  not  retentive  of  moisture;  and  the  more  of  vege- 
table matter  it  contains  in  its  composition  the  better.  It  is 
grown  on  the  light  soils,  when  fertile,  and  well  replenished 
with  manure,  provided  they  are  of  sufficient  depth.  The 
ground  should  be  ploughed  or  mellowed  to  the  depth  of  two 
and  a  half  or  three  feet.  The  seed  is  generally  sown  from  the 
middle  of  April  to  the  middle  of  May.  Some  plant  in  rows 
from  two  to  three  feet  asunder,  and  five  or  six  inches  apart  in 
the  rows.  Others  plant  in  beds  with  intervals  between,  out  of 
which  earth  is  thrown  in  the  lazy-bed  manner  of  growing  po- 
tatoes. The  best  method  of  planting  is  by  the  dibber.  The 
after  culture  consists  in  hoeing,  weeding  and  keeping  the  soil 


184  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

well  and  deeply  pulverized  by  the  use  of  pronged  hoes.  Earth- 
ing up  is  not  only  unnecessary  but  injurious.  The  crop  is 
gathered  the  third  autumn  after  planting,  and  generally  in  the 
month  of  October.  The  see<J  may  be  collected  in  great  abun- 
dance from  the  plants  in  the  September  of  the  second  and  third 
years;  but  it  is  never  so  propagated.  In  general  it  has  few 
diseases;  but  is  sometimes,  though  rarely,  blighted.* 

Madder  has  been  more  extensively  cultivated  in  the  United 
States  than  any  other  plant  of  the  same  family.  Mr.  Russel 
Bronson,  formerly  of  Bridgewater,  New  York,  but  now  of 
Birmingham^  Huron  county,  Ohio,  has  devoted  considerable 
attention,  it  appears,  to  the  introduction  and  culture  of  the 
madder.  The  following  paragraphs  are  from  a  communication 
published  some  time  since  on  this  subject  by  JNIr.  Brojjson: 

A  location  facing  the  south  or  south-east  is  to  be  preferred.  A  sandy  loam 
not  over  stiflTand  heavy,  or  light  and  sandy,  or  a  good  brown,  deep,  rich  ujiland 
loam,  free  from  foul  grass,  weeds,  stones  or  stumps  of  trees.  Wliere  a  crop  of 
potatoes,  peas,  corn  or  wheat  has  been  cultivated  the  past  season,  plough  deep 
twice,  once  in  September  z.^A  once  in  October,  and  if  rather  stiff  let  it  lie  after 
the  plough  until  spring.  When  the  spring  opens,  and  the  ground  has  become 
dry  and  "warm,  (say  in  Tennessee,  1st  of  April,  Ohio,  15lh,  and  New  York, 
25th  to  1st  of  May — I  speak  of  the  spring  of  183G.)  Plough  again  deep,  the 
deeper  the  belter,  then  harrow  well  and  strike  it  into  ridges  with  a  one  horse 
plough,  three  feet  wide  and  four  feet  vacant,  or  making  a  ridge  once  in  seven 
feet,  raising  it  if  on  rather  moist  ground,  eight  or  ten  inches,  and  dry  land  six 
or  eight  from  the  natural  level,  then  with  a  light  harrow  level,  and  shape  the 
ridges  like  a  well  formed  bed  of  beets,  &c. 

We  will  suppose  you  intend  to  plant  one  acre  of  ground,  and  that  you  have 
purchased  eight  bushels  of  tap  roots  in  the  fall  and  buried  them  like  potatoes 
on  your  premises — count  the  ridges  on  your  acre,  and  take  out  of  the  ground 
one  bushel  of  roots  and  plant  it  on  one-eighth  of  your  ridges;  you  will  then  be 
able  to  ascertain  how  to  proportion  your  roots  for  the  remainder.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  manner  of  planting,  cult ivali tig,  &c.,  when  the  quantities  of  ground 
do  not  exceed  three  or  four  acres.  One  person  on  each  side  of  the  ridge  to 
make  the  holes,  (plant  four  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  bed,  or  thereabouts, 
when  covered,)  one  on  each  side  to  drop  the  roots,  and  one  on  each  .side  to 
cover,  pressing  the  hill  like  that  of  planting  corn,  or  three  persons  on  one  side, 
as  the  case  may  be,  whether  you  have  one  or  more  acres  to  plant.  Let  the 
owner  be  the  dropper  of  roots,  and  his  most  thorough  assistants  behind  him. 
Make  the  holes  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  apart,  and  about  six  inches 
from  the  edge  of  the  ridge.  As  the  plants  are  supposed  to  have  been  purchased 
in  the  fall,  the  roots  may  have  thrown  out  sprouts,  and  possibly  have  leaved. 
In  this  case,  in  dropping  and  covering,  you  will  leave  the  most  prominent 
sprout  or  sprouts  a  littleoutof  the  ground,  as  where  a  plant  has  leafed,  it  ought 
not  lo  be  smothered. 

When  the  plant  gets  up  three  or  four  inches,  weed  with  the  hoe,  and  plough 
•with  one  horse,  between  the  ridges  or  beds,  but  not  on  them;  this  will  take 
place  two  or  three  weeks  after  planting'.  When  up  twelve  or  fifteen  inches, 
many  of  the  tops  will  fall;  assist  them  with  a  ten  foot  pole;  two  persons  cross 
theni  each  way  across  the  bed,  cov-erthem  with  a  shovel  or  garden  rake,  throw- 
ing the  soil  from  between  the  ridges.  After  loosening  with  the  one  horse 
plough,  you  will  with  a  shovel  scatter  the  earth  between  the  stalks  rather  than 
throw  it  into  heaps;  of  course  we  wish  to  keep  the  stalks  separate,  as  they  are 
to  form  new  and  important  roots  in  the  centre  of  the  beds.     About  the  '20th  of 

*  Encyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  page  919. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  135 

June,  you  may  plough  between  the  beds,  and  scatter  more  earth  on  the  fresh 
tops,  ("all  but  the  ends,)  and  when  you  get  through,  you  may  plant  potatoes  be- 
tween the  beds  if  you  please.  I  do  not  recommend  it,  if  you  have  plenty  of 
land,  although  I  raised  one  thousand  and  seventy  bushels  of  pink  eyes  on  eight 
acres  the  first  year,  and  sixty  bushels  of  corn.  If  your  land  is  perfectly  clear 
of  weeds,  you  are  through  with  your  labour  on  the  madder  crop  for  this  year, 
except  in  latitudes  where  there  is  not  much  snow,  and  considerable  frost;  in 
this  case  cover  in  October  two  inches  or  thereabout.  Second  year,  same  ope- 
rations in  weeding,  but  no  crop  between;  cover  once  in  June.  Third  year, 
weed  only.    Fourth  year,  weed  in  the  spring,  if  a  weedy  piece  of  ground. 

Begin  to  plough  out  the  roots  in  Tennessee,  [three  years  old]  first  September. 
Ohio,  [four  years]  same  time.  New  York  13th  or  20th,  after  cutting  off  the 
tops  with  a  sharp  hoe.  In  ploughing  out  the  roots  use  a  heavy  span  of  horses, 
and  a  large  plough.  We  ought  to  choose  a  soil  neither  too  wet  nor  too  dry,  too 
stifi  or  light.  Shake  the  dirt  from  the  roots,  and  rinse  or  wash,  as  the  soil  may 
be,  stiff  or  light;  dry  in  a  common  hop  kiln;  grind  them  in  a  mill  after  Wil- 
son's Patent  Coffee  Mill;  this  mill  weighs  from  one  to  two  pounds.  The  mad- 
der mill  may  be  from  sixty  to  eighty  poimds  weight.  Grind  coarse,  and  fan 
in  a  fanning  mill;  then  grind  again  for  market.  The  profit  of  this  crop  is  im- 
mense; the  exhaustion  of  soil  trifling,  and  glutting  the  market  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. 

Madder  is  nsed  in  whole,  or  part,  for  the  following  colours  nn  wool,  both  in 
England,  France,  and  America,  viz:  blue,  black,  red,  buff,  olive-brown,  olive, 
navy  blue,  and  many  others;  finally  it  produces  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  dura- 
ble, and  healthy  colours  that  is  at  this  time  dyed;  as  for  calico  printers,  it  enters 
greatly  into  their  dyes. 


11.    WOAD. 

WoAD  is  one  of  those  plants  which  yield  the  deep  blue 
colouring  matter  so  greatly  valued  in  the  arts — Indigo.  The 
use  of  woad  in  dyeing  is  as  a  basis  for  black  and  other  colours. 
It  was  most  extensively  cultivated  in  Europe  previous  to  the 
introduction  of  the  indigo  of  commerce,  which  is  derived  from 
the  green  parts  of  certain  species  of  plants,  the  production  of 
warmer  countries.  It  is  a  perfectly  hardy  plant.  A  triennial, 
with  a  hairy  branching  stalk  rising  to  the  height  of  three  to 
five  feet.  May  be  sown  in  early  spring,  in  which  case  a  cer- 
tain produce  of  leaves  may  be  obtained  the  same  season. 
Chaptal  says  that  it  is  not  killed  by  frosts  in  France,  and 
that  it  affords  excellent  food  for  cattle  during  the  winter. 

A  good  crop  may  be  obtained  upon  alluvial  soils,  but  strong 
soils  are  preferable,  provided  they  are  not  too  much  inclined 
to  clay.  Wet  moist  lands  will  not  answer.  The  plant 
flourishes  best  in  a  rich,  deep,  mellow  soil.  It  requires  per- 
fect preparation  of  the  ground  and  careful  tillage  during  the 
entire  period  of  its  growth.  The  best  method  of  planting  is 
in  rows,  the  intervals  being  of  a  sufficient  width  to  admit  the 
cultivator  or  horse-hoe.  But  it  is  generally  sown  broadcast. 
When  sown  broadcast  and  harrowed  in,  six  to  eight  pounds  of 
seed  are  required  to  the  acre.  New  seed  should  always  be 
16* 


186  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

preferred  to  old.  The  seed  should  be  invariably  steeped  for 
some  time  before  planting,  as  germination  will  be  hastened 
by  it. 

It  is  mostly  grown  on  a  flat  surface,  though  it  may  be  cul- 
tivated in  raised  drills  or  beds.  When  the  leaves  have  attain- 
ed their  full  size,  and  before  they  have  begun  to  change  to 
their  pale  colour,  they  are  picked  off"  by  hand,  and  in  this  man- 
ner several  successive  crops  are  obtained  during  the  season. 
When  the  plants  have  shot  forth  their  flowering  stems,  the 
land  is  ploughed  and  prepared  for  another  kind  of  crop. 

The  produce  is  mostly  from  about  a  ton  to  a  ton  and  a  half 
of  green  leaves  to  the  acre.  To  prepare  it  for  the  dyer  it  is 
bruised  by  machinery,  to  express  the  watery  part;  it  is  after- 
wards formed  into  balls  and  fermented — re-ground  and  fer- 
mented in  vats,  where  it  is  evaporated  into  cakes  in  the  man- 
ner of  indigo.  The  haulm  is  either  burned  for  manure,  or 
carried  to  the  barn-yard,  and  mixed  with  other  straw  and  re- 
fuse to  be  worked  up  and  fermented.  To  save  seed,  let  the 
leaves  remain  on  some  of  the  plants  the  second  year,  and  when 
ripe  in  July  or  August,  treat  it  like  turnip  seed.  The  mildew 
and  rust  are  the  only  diseases  to  which  this  plant  is  subject; 
yet  it  sometimes  suffers  very  much  from  the  attacks  of  tlie  fly, 
and  the  ground  obliged  to  be  re-sown.  The  preparation  of 
this  plant  for  the  dyer,  requires  a  minute  care  scarcely  com- 
patible with  the  regular  business  of  the  farm. 


III.    WELD  OR  DYERS  WEED. 

Weld  is  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe,  an  imperfect  bien- 
nial, with  small  fusiform  roots,  and  a  leafy  stem  from  one  to 
three  feet  in  height — Loudon.  It  belongs  to  the  mignonette 
family — Resedacese;  and  is  sometimes  found  in  earth  brought 
from  a  great  depth,  as  the  rubbish  of  coal-mines.  The  weld 
affords  a  fine  yellow  dye  for  cotton,  wool,  silk,  and  other  sub- 
stances. Its  culture  may  be  considered  the  same  as  that  of  the 
woad,  only  being  a  smaller  plant  it  is  not  thinned  out  to  so 
great  a  distance;  and  it  has  this  advantage  for  the  farmer  over 
all  other  colouring  plants,  that  it  only  requires  to  be  taken  up 
and  dried,  when  it  is  fit  for  the  dyer. 

It  is  the  most  easily  cultivated  of  all  the  dye-plants,  of  which 
we  have  any  knowledge.  It  grows  on  a  great  variety  of  soils; 
but  fertile  loams  produce  the  best  crops.  It  is  also  cultivated 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  clovers  and  common  grasses;  being 
sometimes  mixed  with  the  clovers  and  grasses,  and  plucked  up 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  187 

from  amongst  them  when  it  is  in  flower.  But  the  sure  way 
of  cultivating  it,  and  the  only  one  we  can  recommend  to  begin- 
ners, is  by  itself — in  which  case  it  may  be  sown  in  the  month 
of  May  or  later — broadcast  or  in  rows — the  ground  having 
been  well  prepared,  the  surface  smoothed,  and  the  seeds,  which 
are  very  small,  lightly  covered. 

The  plants  are  to  be  carefully  cleansed  during  their  growth, 
and  in  July  of  the  second  year,  they  will  be  in  full  flower. 
The  period  of  pulling  is  when  the  bloom  has  been  produced 
the  whole  length  of  the  stem,  and  the  plants  just  beginning  to 
turn  of  a  light  or  yellowish  colour.  At  this  time  the  seedsare 
not  ripe.  The  plants  are  pulled  up  by  the  roots,  and  set  up- 
right, generally  four  together,  to  dry.  Wben  sufliciently  dried, 
which  will  require  a  week  or  more,  they  are  bound  into  lar<>-e 
bundles,  in  which  state  they  are  ready  for  sale — or  they  may 
be  stacked  and  preserved  for  years  without  suffering  injury. 
The  dye,  when  extracted  from  the  stalk,  must  be  soon  used, 
otherwise  it  will  ferment  and  be  lost. 

The  produce  varies  greatly,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
season,  varying  from  half  a  ton  to  two  tons  to  the  acre.  It 
sometimes  yields  a  large  profit — but  the  demand  is  uncertain. 
To  save  seed,  select  a  few  of  the  largest  and  healthiest  plants, 
and  let  them  stand  until  the  seed  are  perfectly  ripe:  they  are 
easily  separated.  The  chief  disease  of  weld  is  the  mildew,  to 
which  it  is  subject  while  young,  and  this  is  one  reason  why  it 
is  very  often  sown  with  grass  and  grain  crops. 


IV.    INDIGO. 


Three  species  of  this  plant  are  cultivated — the  Wild,  {In- 
digo /era  argentea) — the  Guatemala  {dispermea),  and  the 
French  {tincto  ria).  The  first  named  is  the  hardiest  plant, 
and  affords  the  deepest  or  best  blue;  but  one  of  the  other  two 
species  is  commonly  preferred,  as  being  more  productive;  and 
in  this  the  French  surpasses  the  Guatemala  in  quantity,  but 
yields  to  it  in  fineness  of  grain  and  beauty  of  colour. 

Indigo  is  a  tap-rooted  plant — will  endure  severe  drought — 
but  is  unsuitable  for  wet  lands.  In  the  West  Indies,  it  may  be 
raised  in  comparatively  poor  dry  soils  — but  to  most  advantage 
in  those  that  are  rich.  In  the  southern  states,  where  its  cul- 
ture is  attended  to,  on  a  limited  scale  however,  it  requires  a 
good  rich  deep  soil.  The  southern  parts  of  the  United  States 
;is  tolerably  well  adapted  for  the  culture  of  this  plant;  but  it  is 


188  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

more  productive  still  farther  to  the  south,  particularly  in  many 
of  the  West  India  Islands  where  it  is  indigenous. 

A  bushel  of  seed  of  this  plant  is  sufficient  for  five  acres. 
The  ground  is  first  to  be  properly  mellowed  with  the  plough, 
and  then  harrowed,  when  the  seeds  may  be  sown  with  a  drill 
in  rows,  at  the  distance  of  about  twelve  or  fourteen  inches 
apart,  in  a  manner  very  similar  to  that  which  is  directed  for 
the  culture  of  onions. — Nicholson's  Farmer^s  »dssistant. 


V.    BASTARD  SAFFRON. 

The  bastard  saffron,  Carthamus  tinctorius,  is  an  annual 
plant,  rising  with  a  stiff  ligneous  stalk,  two  feet  and  a  half  or 
three  feet  high,  dividing  upwards  into  many  branches.  It  is 
a  native  of  Asia.  Sown  in  April,  it  flowers  in  July  and  Au- 
gust, and  its  seeds  ripen  in  autumn.  The  dye  produced  is  of 
two  kinds — a  yellow  and  red.  It  is  cultivated  in  various  parts 
of  Europe,  especially  in  Germany;  very  extensively  in  Egypt 
and  the  Levant,  whence  great  quantities  are  annually  imported 
into  England  and  France  for  painting  and  dyeing.  The  seeds 
yield  an  oil  which  is  used  in  medicine  and  painting. 

According  to  Loudon,  the  soil  it  requires  is  light,  and  the 
preparation  and  culture,  according  to  Von  Thaer,  equal  to 
tliat  of  the  garden.  Gen.  Armstrong  says,  it  succeeds  but  in 
rich  friable  black  earth,  or  in  one  of  a  dark  red  or  chocolate 
colour.  The  seed  is  sown  in  rows,  or  deposited  in  patches 
two  feet  apart  each  way;  and  in  the  process  of  early  culture, 
they  are  thinned  out  so  that  only  two  or  three  remain  together. 
The  soil  is  to  be  well  stirred  and  kept  free  of  weeds.  In  Au- 
gust the  flowers  begin  to  expand;  the  petals  of  the  florets  are 
then  to  be  cut  off,  and  dried  in  the  shade  or  on  a  kiln.  They 
are  then  ready  for  market.  This  operation  is  best  performed 
in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  and  may  be  continued  daily  until 
October,  when  the  plants  are  to  be  pulled  up,  sheaved  and 
shocked,  and  threshed  for  their  seeds.  The  stalks  are  burnt 
for  manure.  The  flowers  of  this  plant  always  precedes  the 
leaves. 

A  vast  number  of  other  plants  could  be  enumerated  as  yield- 
ing dyes,  and  capable  of  being  cultivated  for  that  purpose. 
The  colours  they  yield  are  more  or  less  valued  for  their  per- 
manence and  beauty. 


w 


189 


XL— PLANTS   CULTIVATED   FOR  THEIR   SUGAR. 

A  GREAT  variety  of  plants  are  either  cultivated  or  admit  of 
cultivation  for  their  sugars.  Among  them  the  following  may- 
be enumerated.  The  sap  of  the  birch,  sycamore,  bamboo, 
maize,  parsnep,  cow-parsnep,  American  aloe,  dulse,  walnut- 
tree,  cocoanut-tree;  from  the  fruit  of  the  common  arbutus,  and 
other  sweet  tasted  fruits;  from  the  various  species  of  the  grape; 
from  the  roots  of  the  turnip,  the  carrot  and  the  parsley;  from 
the  flower  of  the  Euxine  rhodendron,  and  from  the  nectary  of 
most  other  flowers.  These  have  all  been  tried  in  Europe, 
sometimes  by  way  of  experiment,  but  more  frequently  from 
necessity.  The}"^  have,  however,  given  way  entirely  to  the 
three  following  named  plants,  from  which  alone  sugar  is  now 
extracted  to  any  considerable  amount.  1.  The  Sugar  Cane, 
Saccharum  officinarum.  2.  The  Sugar  Maple,  ^cer  sac- 
chai'inu/n.     3.  Sugar  Beet,  Beta  cicla  et  vulgaris. 


I.    THE  SUGAR  CANE. 

The  sugar  cane  is  a  native  both  of  the  islands  and  the  con- 
tinent of  America,*  as  well  as  the  East  Indies.  It  was  known 
to  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Sugar  and  the  sugar-reed  are 
mentioned  in  the  most  ancient  records  that  have  been  handed 
down  to  us — first  mentioned  by  Paul  Egineta,  a  physician. 
It  was  made  known  by  the  conquests  of  Alexander  the 
Great;  and  Strabo  relates  that  it  was  found  in  the  East  In- 
dies, three  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  before  the  coming 
of  Christ.  That  celebrated  Roman  farmer,  Varro,  a  few  of 
whose  works  on  agriculture  have  been  handed  down,  though 
greatly  mutilated,  refers  to  it  sixty-eight  years  B.  C,  as  a 
fluid  pressed  from  reeds  of  a  large  size,  sweeter  than  honey. 
It  was,  no  doubt,  introduced  into  Europe  during  the  Crusades 
— expeditions,  which,  however  romantic  in  their  plan,  and  un- 
successful in  their  execution,  were  productive  of  great  advan- 

*The  sugar  cane  was  found  growing  luxuriantly  when  Columbus  first  dis- 
covered this  country.  We  have  the  testimony  also  of  Peter  Martyr,  in'the 
third  book  of  his  First  Decade,  written  during  the  second  voyage  of  Colum- 
bus, 1493, 1495;  it  appears  that  the  sugar  cane  was  known  at  that  period  ia 
liispaniola. 


190  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

tages  to  the  nations  of  Europe.     To  the  Crusades  the  world  is 
indebted  for  the  modern  manufacture  and  commerce  of  sugar. 

Its  cultivation  in  Spain  is  referred  to  by  some  old  writers  as 
early  as  the  year  A.  D.  1052;  and  it  was  said  of  Tyre  in 
Syria,  in  the  year  1169,  that  "that  city  was  famous  for  excel- 
lent sugar."  It  was  produced  in  Sicily,  in  1148;  in  Madeira, 
1419;  in  the  Canary  Islands,  1503.  White  sugar  made  its  first 
appearance  it  is  said,  at  Vienna,  in  1333;  and  is  mentioned  as 
one  of  the  heaviest  items  in  household  expenditures;  four  years 
previous  to  this,  loaves  of  sugar  were  sold  in  Scotland  at  one 
ounce  of  pure  silver  per  pound,  rather  more  than  four  dollars 
of  our  money  at  the  present  day.  The  business  of  cultivating 
the  cane,  and  the  manufacture  of  the  sugar,  was  commenced  in 
good  earnest  by  the  English,  in  1643,  who  had  previously 
settled  the  Island  of  Barbadoes.  Their  neighbours,  the  French, 
were  not  far  behind,  as  we  find  them  entering  into  the  busi- 
ness, in  1648,  in  the  Island  of  Gaudaloupe,  on  the  grand  scale. 

The  culture  and  fabrication  of  sugar  being  found  profitable, 
the  Dutch,  Spaniards,  and  Portuguese  entered  largely  into  the 
new  trade,  and  every  island,  of  which  they  had  severally  be- 
come possessed,  by  the  late  discovery,  suitable  for  its  culture, 
was  appropriated  to  it,  and  the  unhappy  inhabitants,  in  many 
instances,  compelled  to  act  the  part  of  slaves  in  its  fabrication. 
In  1518-19,  St.  Domingo  contained  fifty-seven  cane  planta- 
tions, and  twenty-eight  sugar  presses.  But  in  the  short  space 
of  sixty  years,  if  our  authority  is  correct,  we  find  this  one 
island,  exporting  to  Europe,  the  almost  incredible  amount  of 
sixty-five  thousand  tons  of  sugar  per  annum! 

It  cannot,  however,  stand  the  cold  of  high  latitudes.  The 
zone  of  its  cultivation  extends  to  about  35°  on  either  side  of 
the  equator — this  is  the  most  suitable  range.  Although  it  has 
been  cultivated,  and  in  some  instances  successfully,  between 
the  thirty-fifth  and  fortieth  degrees  of  latitude. 


ir.    THE  SUGAR  MAPLE. 

The  sugar-maple,  Jlcer  saccharinum,  is  one  of  the  innu- 
merable marvels  of  the  American  forest,  extending  over  avast 
tract  of  country,  from  the  36th  to  the  48th  degree  of  latitude, 
and  in  longitude  half  the  width  of  the  continent.  No  tree, 
with  the  exception  of  perhaps  the  oak  and  pine,  has  obtained 
a  more  extensive  and  just  celebrity  than  the  sugar-maple.  The 
extraordinary  neatness  of  its  appearance,  and  the  beauty  of  its 
foliage,  which  in  summer  is  of  the  liveliest  green,   and  in 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS,  191 

autumn  assumes  the  richest  and  most  glowing  red,  are  abun- 
dantly sufficient  to  recommend  it  as  a  beautiful  ornament  in 
our  gardens  and  avenues. 

The  branches  of  the  sugar-maple  exhibits  great  regularity, 
without  stiffness,  and  are  so  arranged,  that  their  usual  outline 
is  an  elegant  oval.  The  bark  is  remarkably  smooth.  It  is  a 
tree  of  tolerably  quick  growth — bears  transplanting  very  well 
— and  will  grow  on  almost  any  soil.  The  most  reckless  pro- 
digality has  been  manifested  in  the  destruction  of  this  valuable 
tree;  in  very  many  sections  of  our  country,  whole  groves  have 
been  felled  for  no  other  purpose  than  the  ashes  obtained  from 
the  burning  of  the  trees.  It  is  stated,  on  good  authority,  (1834,) 
that  three-fourths  of  the  pot  and  pearl  ashes  made  in  this  coun- 
try, and  which  forms  so  important  an  article  of  export  from 
the  northern  states,  is  manufactured  from  the  ashes  of  the 
sugar-maple.  But  this  destructive  system,  is  now,  in  a  great 
measure,  checked;  and  it  has  become  a  matter  of  serious  im- 
portance to  the  farmers  residing  within  the  limits  of  its  growth, 
to  perpetuate  and  extend  it.* 

This  can  be  easily  accomplished.  They  may  be  set  out  as 
ornamental  and  shade  trees,  around  the  farm-house,  along  the 
avenues,  and  in  clusters  in  fields  where  shade  is  occasionally 
required;  or,  the  farmer  may  set  apart  three,  four,  or  more 
acres  of  land  for  a  sugar  orchard.  The  trees  may  be  planted 
in  rows,  ten  feet  apart;  and  the  same  interval  of  ten  feet  be- 
tween the  rows.  This  gives  four  hundred  and  sixteen  trees  to 
an  acre.  The  trees  may  be  procured  in  abundance  in  any 
forest  where  the  sugar-maple  grows  spontaneously.  Those 
who  plant  now,  will  generally  plant  for  posterity;  but  there 
are  many  young  farmers,  who,  if  they  would  address  them- 
selves to  it  immediately,  would  probably  reap  some  benefit 
from  such  a  plantation  in  their  own  time,  and  the  advantages 
that  would  result  to  posterity  would  be  very  great.  Samuel 
M.  Hopkins,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of 
Genesee  county,  New  York,  says,  and  he  cites  a  case  in  point, 
that  a  person,  after  attaining  the  age  of  manhood,  may  raise, 
even  from  the  seed  or  sucker,  an  orchard  of  maples,  from 
which  sugar  may  be  made  twenty  years  or  more,  within  the 
possible  duration  of  his  life. 

Mr.  Hopkins  states  that  young  maples,  taken  up  in  the  woods 
and  transplanted,  may  probably  be  tapped  without  injury  in 
from  ten  to  fifteen  years.  He  is  of  opinion,  that  forty  trees,  of 
the  largest  growth — that  is,  one  for  every  four  rods  of  ground 
— are  sufficient  for  an  acre,  though  he  does  not  object  to  eighty, 

♦  Genesee  Parmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  233.— N.  A.  Review,  April,  1837. 


192  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS, 

or  even  double  that  number.  The  trees  will  injure  the  land 
very  little,  if  any,  either  for  pasturage  or  meadow,  till  they 
themselves  become  productive — and  very  trifling  afterward, 
provided  the  trees  are  not  set  too  close. 

The  rapidity  of  the  growth  of  young  trees  when  transplant- 
ed, depends  very  essentially  on  the  manner  of  performing  that 
operation.  The  greater  the  depth  and  superficial  extent  to 
which  the  ground  is  loosened,  round  where  a  young  plant  is  to 
be  set,  the  more  rapid  will  be  its  growth.  Let,  for  instance,  a 
young  tree  be  set  in  a  hole  only  eighteen  inches  diameter,  and 
a  foot  in  depth — and  let  another,  in  all  respects  similar,  be  set 
in  a  space  six  feet  wide  and  two  feet  deep,  and  the  latter  will, 
for  many  succeeding  years,  grow  with  double  the  rapidity  of 
the  former.  In  order,  therefore,  to  give  the  young  maple  a 
rapid  start,  so  as  to  have  them  soon  in  a  condition  to  afford 
large  supplies  of  sap,  due  attention  must  be  paid  to  this  par- 
ticular. Let  the  spaces  for  the  trees  be  dug  a  foot  in  depth 
and  five  feet  in  diameter,  and  then  spade,  prong,  or  loosen  the 
bottom  of  each  hole,  to  the  depth  of  about  a  foot,  before  the 
young  trees  are  set  in.* 

In  addition  to  planting  maples  in  grounds  intended  as  per- 
manent pasture  or  meadow  land,  each  side  of  the  highway 
leading  through  any  farm  might  be  profitably  occupied  and 
adorned  with  these  trees,  set  at  the  distance  of  about  every  two 
rods.  Suppose,  also,  that  the  farm-house  were  placed  in  a  spa- 
cious court-yard — occupying  an  acre  in  extent — and  this  plant- 
ed with  a  suitable  number  of  this  most  beautiful  and  ornamental 
tree,  could  any  thing  confer  more  of  an  air  of  pleasantness  and 
elegance  to  the  mansion.  Every  farmer  might,  in  this  way, 
stock  his  lands  with  a  permanent  growth  that  would  in  time 
afford  him  an  abundant  supply  of  sugar — plentiful  additions  of 
fuel — and  eminently  serve  as  an  embellishment  to  his  domain. 

There  is  on  almost  every  hill  farm,  some  place  favourable  to 
the  growth  of  a  maple  orchard — some  rocky  spot,  yielding  but 
little  grass,  and  impervious  to  the  plough.  Such  spots  may  be 
favourably  chosen  for  the  growth  of  a  maple  orchard — and 
whether  the  increase  be  used  for  the  manufacturing  of  sugar 
and  molasses,  or  for  timber  or  fuel,  the  proprietor  will  find  a 
profit  better  than  money  at  interest  in  the  growth  of  this  beau- 
tiful tree,  which  will  spontaneously  propagate  itself  in  various 
positions.  The  second  growth  is  very  rapid,  becoming  of  a 
proper  size,  in  many  instances,  of  producing  sugar  in  ten  to 
fifteen  years;  the  sap  of  the  second  growth  having  been  found 
to  yield  a  larger  proportion  of  saccharine  than  the  original  forest 

♦  The  Plough  Boy,  vol.  i.,  page  379. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  193 

trees.     As  an  article  of  fuel,  its  wood  equals,  the  solid  hick- 
ory.* 

The  increased  consumption  of  sugar  within  the  last  century, 
is  really  astonishing;  and  so  nutritive,  wholesome  and  agree- 
able,— universally  acceptable  to  the  infant  and  the  aged — the 
civilized  and  the  savage, — no  possible  limit  can  be  set  to  its 
consumption.  The  population  of  the  sugar  growing  countries 
— now  that  Europe  is  recognised  as  such  by  the  late,  but  very 
extensive  fabrication  of  sugar  from  the  beet  root — is  estimated 
at  four  hundred  and  sixty-eight  million  souls.  The  great  tra- 
veller and  naturalist,  Humboldt,  states,  that  in  Mexico  the 
consumption  is  ten  pounds  per  year  to  each  inhabitant.  The 
estimated  consumption  in  England  is  set  down  at  twenty-four 
pounds  to  an  inhabitant;  in  Ireland,  five;  in  Scotland,  six  and 
a  half;  in  Belgium,  seven;  in  Holland,  seventeen;  in  Spain, 
four  and  a  half;  and  in  Portugal  the  same;  France  and  Ger- 
many, at  present  the  great  beet-sugar  manufacturing  countries, 
are  large  consumers,  the  average  of  the  former  being  seven 
pounds  to  an  inhabitant;  of  the  latter,  five  and  a  half  The  total 
annual  consumption  of  sugar  in  Europe,  is  one  thousand  million 
two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  pounds;  of  which  one  hundred 
and  forty  million,  or  sixty-two  thousand  five  hundred  tons,  are 
beet-sugar.  The  total  annual  consumption  throughout  the 
world,  is  set  down  at  six  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
million  pounds — worth,  at  six  cents  a  pound,  three  hundred  and 
seventy-six  million  and  twenty  thousand  dollars;  two  hundred 
million  pounds  are  probably  consumed  in  the  United  States, 
which  will  give  to  each  individual  sixteen  pounds  per  annum. 
Our  domestic  production — which  has  rarely  proved  profitable 
— is  estimated  at  fifty  thousand  hogsheads,  or  fifty  million  of 
pounds,!  to  which  may  be  added  from  ten  to  fifteen  tons  of 
the  maple-sugar.  In  1837,  the  sugar  imported  \uXo  the  United 
States  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  million  one 
hundred  and  forty-nine  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-one 
pounds.  In  the  same  year,  the  exports  to  forty  million  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  nine 
pounds,  leaving  a  balance  against  us  of  ninety-six  million  four- 
teen thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-two  pounds. 

The  amount  of  sugar  consumed  is  almost  incredible.  The 
aggregate  quantity  imported  for  the  seven  years  ending  Sep- 
tember 30,  1831,  was  five  hundred  and  thirty-six  million 
three  hundred  and  sixty-three  thousand  five  hundred  and 
ninety-two  pounds;  and  in  the  seven  years  preceding  Septem- 

*  Hon.  Isaac  Hill,  governor  of  New  Hampshire. 

t  In  1839  the  cane-sugar  manufactured  in  Louisiana  and  Mississippi  alone, 
_^     exceeded  forty  thousand  hogsheads. 
•  17 


194  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

ber  30,  1835,  the  aggregate  amount  was  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  million  three  hundred  and  seventy-one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  eight  pounds.  The  quantity  imported  for  the  year 
ending  September  30,  1837,  was  one  hundred  and  thirt3'-six 
million  one  hundred  and  forty-one  thousand  three  hundred 
and  thirty-two  pounds;  and  all  this  is  exclusive  of  the  home 
manufacture,  that  from  the  cane  alone  amounting  to  one  hun- 
dred thousand  hogsheads  per  annum,  besides  that  made  from 
other  materials.  The  quantity  of  sugar  exported  for  the  year 
ending  1837,  according  to  the  treasurer's  report,  was  forty-one 
million  fifty-nine  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ten  pounds,  of 
all  kinds.  The  quantity  of  molasses  iynpuried  during  the  year 
1837,  was  sixteen  million  four  hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  gallons. 

These  facts  are  cited  simply  to  show  to  the  farmer  residing 
within  the  zone  of  the  maple,  that  sug.tr,  which  is  one  of  the 
miost  nourishing  substances  in  nature,  will  always  be  in  de- 
mand; and  that,  inasmuch  as  sugar  from  the  maple  is  easily 
fabricated — requires  no  attention  except  at  the  time  of  manu- 
facturing— that  with  care  in  its  manufacture  and  after  processes 
it  may  be  rendered  equal  to  the  best  productions  of  the  cane  or 
beet,  command  a  fair  price,  and  of  course  be  rendered  profita- 
ble— that  it  is  the  interest  of  the  farmer  to  protect  the  trees  now 
remaining,  and  also  to  set  out  others,  as  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding paragraphs.  While  doing  this,  he  not  only  adds  greatly 
to  the  beauty  of  his  domain,  but  also  to  its  prospective  value. 
Besides,  the  sugar  is  made  usually  at  a  season  in  which  it  does 
not  interfere  with  the  ordinary  operations  of  the  farm. 

The  fabrication  of  sugar  from  the  sap  of  the  maple,  is  a  sim- 
ple process.  But  the  whole  business  should  be  managed  with 
the  utmost  cleanliness.  A  great  objection  heretofore  urged 
against  the  use  of  it  generally,  and  which  has  for  years  past 
given  it  a  bad  repute,  is  the  very  slovenly  manner  in  which  it 
is  manufactured — and  its  dark  and  dirty  appearance  would 
deter  many  from  purchasing.  There  has  been  much  bad  prac- 
tice and  wrong  management.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  it 
must  necessarily  continue. 

The  process  of  fiibricating  the  sugar,  according  to  the  most 
approved  method,  is  thus  stated  by  the  Hon.  Isaac  Hill,  of 
New  Hampshire. 

The  work  begins  usually  about  the  first  of  March.  The  tree  will  yield  the 
liquid  long  before  vegetation  appears  from  the  bud:  frequently  the  most  co- 
pious flow  is  before  the  snow  disappears  from  the  ground.  The  clear  day  fol- 
lowing a  night  of  freezing  is  the  best  time  for  running  sap.  Some  persons  have 
a  camp  in  their  maple  orchards  where  large  cauldrons  are  set  in  which  to  boil 
down  the  sap  to  the  consistenc_v  of  a  thick  syrup:  others  take  the  liquid  to  their 
houses  and  there  boil  down  and  sugar  off.     The  process  begins  by  the  prepa- 


▼ 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  195 

ration  of  spouts  and  troughs  or  tubs  for  the  trees:  the  spouts  or  tubes  are  made 
of  elder,  sumac,  or  pine,  sharpened  to  fit  an  auger  hole  of  about  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  hole  is  bored  a  little  upward,  at  the  distance  hori- 
zontally of  five  or  six  inches  apart,  and  about  twenty  inches  from  the  ground, 
on  the  south  or  sunny  side  of  the  tree.  The  trough,  cut  from  white  maple, 
pine,  ash  or  basswood,  is  set  directly  under  the  spouts,  the  points  of  which  are 
.so  constructed  as  completely  to  fill  the  hole  in  the  tree,  and  prevent  the  loss  of 
the  sap  at  the  edges,  having  a  small  gimlet  or  pith  hole  in  the  centre,  through 
which  the  entire  juice  discharged  from  the  tree  runs,  and  is  all  saved  in  the 
vessels  below.  The  distance  bored  into  the  tree  is  only  about  one  half  inch, 
to  give  the  best  run  of  sap.  The  method  of  boring  is  far  better  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  tree  than  boxing,  or  cutting  a  hole  with  an  axe,  from  the  lower 
edge  of  which  the  juice  is  directed  by  a  spout  to  the  trough  or  tub  prepared  to 
receive  it.  [The  latter  method,  boxing,  is  highly  injurious,  and  ought  never 
to  be  adopted.]  The  tub  should  be  of  ash,  or  other  wood  that  will  communi- 
cate no  vicious  taste  to  the  liquid  or  sugar. 

The  sap  is  gathered  daily  from  the  trees  and  put  in  larger  tubs  for  the  pur- 
pose of  boiling  down.  This  is  done  by  the  process  of  a  steady  hot  fire.  The 
surface  of  the  boiling  kettle  is  from  time  to  time  cleansed  by  a  skimmer.  The 
liquid  is  prevented  from  boiling  over  by  the  suspension  of  a  small  piece  of  fat 
pork  at  the  proper  point.  Fresh  additions  of  sap  are  made  as  the  volume  boils 
away.  When  down  to  a  syrup,  the  liquor  is  set  away  in  some  earthen  or  metal 
vessel  till  it  becomes  cool  and  settled.  Again  the  purest  part  is  drawn  off  or 
poured  into  a  kettle  until  the  vessel  is  two-thirds  full.  By  a  brisk  and  conti- 
nual fire  the  syrup  is  further  reduced  in  volume  to  a  degree  of  consistence  best 
taught  by  a  little  experience,  when  it  is  either  put  into  moulds  to  become  hard 
as  it  IS  cooled  or  stirred  until  it  shall  be  grained  into  sugar.  The  right  point 
of  time  to  take  it  away  from  the  fire  may  be  ascertained  by  cooling  and  grain- 
ing a  small  quantity.  The  sediment  is  strained  ofl^  and  boiled  down  to  make 
molasses. 

A  cold  and  dry  w^inter  is  followed  with  a  greater  yield  of  sugar  from  the 
maple  than  a  season  very  moist  and  variable.  Trees  growing  in  wet  places 
will  yield  more  sap,  but  much  less  sugar  from  the  same  quantity,  than  trees  on 
more  elevated  and  drier  ground.  The  red  and  white  maple  will  yield  sap, 
but  it  has  much  less  of  the  saccharine  quality  than  the  rock  or  sugar  maple. 

As  this  is  made  at  a  season  interfering  very  little  with  the  other  business  of 
the  farm,  the  sugar  that  the  farmer  makes  is  as  so  much  clear  gain. 

A  spoonful  of  slaked  lime  to  a  half  barrel  of  sap  is  beneficial,  it  causes  the 
impurities  to  rise  more  readily  when  boiling.  Fermentation  of  the  sap  usually 
takes  place  in  about  thirty-six  hours;  and  unless  some  method  is  devised  of 
preserving  it,  it  should  be  boiled  without  delay.  "When  reduced  to  syrup  it  is 
to  be  strained  through  a  w^oollen  cloth,  hair  cloth  will  answer  as  well,  and 
stand  for  a  few  hours  to  settle.  In  boiling  down,  charcoal  is  the  best  fuel  to 
use.  The  clarifying  materials  should  be  added  at  the  commencement  of  this 
process,  (boiling  down.)  These  are  generally  milk,  eggs,  or  what  is  better, 
calves  blood.  The  scum  which  rises  should  be  carefully  removed.  The  syrup, 
when  properly  reduced,  is  taken  from  the  fire,  and  stirred  for  some  time  in 
order  to  give  it  grain,  which  is  thus  easily  effected  by  bringing  every  part  into 
contact  with  the  atmosphere.  This  is  a  very  important  part  of  the  process,  for 
if  it  is  not  stirred,  but  poured  into  the  moulds,  it  will  not  be  grained,  but  re- 
semble candy  rather  than  sugar.  Molasses  and  vinegar  are  generally  made 
from  the  last  runnings,  the  sap  being  less  adapted  for  sugar.  The  molasses, 
when  properly  clarified,  is  superior  to  that  from  the  sugar-cane,  having  a  pe- 
culiarly grateful  flavour.  The  vinegar,  though  excellent  for  ordinary  use,  is 
not  well  adapted  for  pickles.* 

Clai/ing  or  'irhitening  Ihe  sugar.  In  two  or  three  days  after  the  moulds  or 
tubs  are  unstopped  at  the  bottom,  mix  white  clay  with  w'ater,  so  as  to  reduce  it 
to  a  thin  mortar.  With  this  cover  the  top  of  the  sugar  one  inch  and  a  half 
thick;  when  the  covering  appears  dry,  remove  it,  and  supply  its  place  by  a 


*  We  believe  it  is  not  used  in  the  arts. 


196  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

fresh  covering  two  inches  thick.  This  process  may  reduce  the  sugar  one-fifth, 
but  it  adds  correspondingly  to  the  molasses. — Jesse  Buel,  Esq.,  in  Cultivator, 
vol.  i.  page  5. 

Trees  should  always  be  tapped  on  the  south  side  first — as 
the  season  advances,  on  the  east  and  west  side — and  lastly  on 
the  north.  The  duration  of  the  sugar  making  season  is  gene- 
rally about  a  month.  When  the  weather  becomes  warm,  rinse 
out  the  buckets  wiih  lime  water  frequently,  as  it  v,rill  prevent 
the  sap  from  souring. 

An  intelligent  writer  in  the  Genesee  Farmer,  who  appears 
to  have  devoted  much  attention  to  this  subject,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  improvements  recently  made  in  the  fabri- 
cation of  this  article: 

The  first  improvement  is  in  the  manner  of  tapping  and  gathering  the  sap. 
The  trees  are  tapped  with  a  half  inch  screw  bit,  bored  not  to  exceed  an  inch 
and  a  half  deep — two  holes,  one  about  three  inches  higher  than  the  other,  so 
that  the  spout  need  not  interfere  with  the  emptying  of  the  bucket.  The  spouts 
are  made  of  soft  maple  or  ash,  turned  and  bored  in  a  lathe— the  one  for  the 
lower  hole  is  three  inches  long,  quite  tapering,  with  a  crack  near  the  end  for 
holding  a  wire  with  which  the  "bucket  is  suspended — the  upper  one  six  inches 
long,  made  in  the  usual  manner.  The  buckets  are  large,  holding  from  twelve 
to  sixteen  quarts,  and  suspended  from  the  short  spout  by  a  wire  or  string,  so 
that  it  will  swing,  and  may  be  emptied  without  taking  off.  The  advantages  of 
having  the  buckets  suspended  from  the  spouts  are,  that  you  catch  all  the  sap, 
the  buckets  are  not  found  wrong  end  up  when  you  have  a  good  run,  and  a  great 
saving  of  labour  in  the  gathering.  The  spouts  are  durable,  lasting,  with  proper 
care,  as  long  as  the  buckets. 

The  next  and  most  important  improvement  is  in  the  boiling.  Instead  of  three 
kettles,  between  two  logs,  the  smoke  and  ashes  flying  every  way,  we  have  sheet- 
iron  pans  of  a  size  corresponding  with  the  number  of  trees.  For  a  plantation  of 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  trees,  a  pan  of  six  feet  long,  three 
feet  wide,  and  nine  inches  deep,  would  be  of  a  suitable  size.  This  pan  is  set 
upon  an  arch  of  brick-M'ork,  so  that  x\ie  fire  extends  the  whole  length  of  the 
bottom,  and  does  not  touch  the  sides  or  ends — therefore  they  are  not  liable  to 
burn — a  large  surface  is  thus  exposed  for  evaporation,  and  they  will  boil  off 
the  sap  much  faster  than  cauldrons  or  kettles  containing  the  same  quantity. 
Besides,  they  are  much  neater,  less  in  the  way,  and  cheaper.  They  are  made 
of  common  sheet-iron  riveted  together.  [Copper  would  answer  a  better  pur- 
pose, especially  where  sugar  is  made  in  large  quantities.  It  gives  out  heat 
with  much  greater  rapidity  than  iron.*]  Another  improvement  is  in  having 
suitable  buildings,  properly  fitted  up  with  all  the  necessary  apparatus  for  con- 
ducting the  business  with  facility  and  convenience — such  as  reservoirs, 
buckets,  boilers,  &c. 

Willis  Gaylord,  Esq.,  of  Otisco,  New  York,  one  of  the 
most  intelligent  and  successful  agriculturists  of  that  great  state, 
in  speaking  of  the  proper  period  of  making  sugar  from  the 
maple,  which  depends  almost  entirely  on  the  forwardness  of 
the  spring,  usually  varying  from  the  first  to  the  fifteenth  of 
March,  says: 

In  order  that  the  sap  may  flow  freely,  the  frost  must  be  mostly  out  of  the 
ground,  and  a  degree  of  warmth,  snflicient  to  cause  the  minute  vessels  in  the 

*  To  make  the  experiment,  take  two  bars,  one  of  iron  the  other  of  copper, 
of  equal  length  and  circumference;  place  them  in  the  fire,  retaining  an  end  of 
each  in  your  hand,  you  will  find  the  heat  is  communicated  to  your  hand  by  the 
copper  bar  some  minutes  in  advance  of  the  other. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  197 

tree  tops  to  expand  rapidly,  must  exist  in  the  air.  The  number  of  trees  to  be 
tapped,  depends  on  the  means  of  disposing  of  the  sap  nearly  as  fast  as  it  flows, 
and  on  the  quantity  of  sugar  it  is  intended  to  make.  In  ordinary  seasons  four 
pounds  to  a  tree  will  not  be  too  high  an  estimate. 

The  sap  should  be  boiled  away  immediately  after  it  is  gath- 
ered from  the  trees.  The  buckets,  the  receivers,  the  kettles, 
should  all  be  kept  scrupulously  neat  and  sweet.  The  sap  and 
the  syrup,  when  boiling,  should  be  carefully  scummed  and 
cleansed.  Two  quarts  of  milk,  stirred  into  the  syrup  when 
cold,  and  the  whole  gradually  raised  to  boiling,  will  complete- 
ly cleanse  a  quantity  of  syrup  sufficient  to  produce  thirty-five 
pounds  of  sugar.  After  the  addition  of  the  milk  the  syrup 
should  not  be  agitated  in  the  least,  until  the  impure  mass  has 
risen  to  the  surface,  and  is  ready  to  be  removed  by  skimming. 
Lime  is  used  as  a  corrector  of  the  gallic  acid,  which  at  an  ad- 
vanced period  of  the  sugar  season,  or  when  the  sap  has  stood 
for  some  time,  renders  the  conversion  of  the  syrup  into  sugar 
impossible.  For  this  the  lime  is  a  corrector.  If  more  sap  is 
gathered  than  can  be  boiled  down  at  the  time,  it  is  to  be  stored 
in  a  large  tub  or  reservoir,  under  cover;  and  a  handful  of  lime 
is  occasionally  thrown  into  it,  and  when  necessary  stirred  up. 
A  handful  of  liine  will  be  sufficient  for  several  barrels  of  sap, 
if  applied  often.  It  is  recommended  to  wash  all  the  utensils 
frequently  with  a  preparation  of  lime-water.* 


III.    THE  SUGAR-BEET. 

The  beet  is  now  cultivated  largely  in  France,  and  through- 
out the  north  of  Europe,  for  its  sugar.  The  sugar  produced, 
when  crystallized — which  is  easily  effected,  provided  the  quan- 
tity of  syrup  operated  on  is  sufficiently  large — is  then  no  way 
inferior  to  that  derived  from  the  sugar-cane.  The  fact  that 
crystallized  sugar  could  be  obtained  from  the  beet-root,  was 
first  noticed  by  Margraff  in  1747,  but  excited  little  or  no 
attention  until  1790,  when  Achard,  a  German  chemist, 
directed  the  men  of  science  in  France  to  that  subject.  The 
success  which  now  attends  the  culture  of  the  beet,  and  the 
fabrication  of  sugar  in  France,  owes  its  origin  to  the  plans  of 
Napoleon,  to  render  his  empire  independent  of  the  sugar  com- 
merce. After  the  downfall  of  that  great  captain,  and  the  re- 
storation of  the  Bourbons,  its  manufacture  was  encouraged  by 
a  system  of  fiscal  regulations,  imposing  a  somewhat  onerous 
duty  on  importations — with  a  shade  of  difference  in  favour  of 

,  *  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  iv.  p.  91. 

17* 


198  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

that  imported  from  the  French  sugar  islands.  But  such  has 
been  the  vast  increase  of  its  manufacture — affecting  the  revenue 
of  the  empire  by  lessening  its  receipts  at  the  customs — and  a 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  French  government  to  uphold  the  in- 
terests of  the  sugar  islands,  that  a  heavy  tax  has  been  imposed 
on  the  domestic  manufacture. 

Sugar  from  the  beet,  of  a  very  superior  quality,  has  been 
made  at  different  periods  and  in  various  sections  of  the  Union. 
To  manufacture  sugar  from  the  beet  root  to  a  profit,  the  busi- 
ness must  be  conducted  on  the  grand  scale.  No  doubt  is 
entertained,  however,  that  in  process  of  time,  the  business  will 
be  so  far  simplified,  as  to  constitute  an  article  of  household 
fabrication.  But  at  the  present  period  this  is  not  desirable: 
and  if  the  manufacture  of  sugar  from  the  beet  should,  with  us, 
prove  a  total  failure,  still  the  benefits  arising  from  its  introduc- 
tion and  extensive  culture  of  the  beet  throughout  the  Union, 
are  incalculable.  Accomplishing  for  this  country  what  the 
turnip  culture  did  for  England.  But  that  the  manufacture  of 
the  beet-sugar,  will  ere  long  become  general  and  profitable,  is 
as  certain  as  that  the  beet  will  grow.  We  would  not,  how- 
ever, advise  the  farmer  to  give  the  least  attention  to  its  fabri- 
cation, especially  under  present  circumstances.  He  will  find 
it  of  far  greater  advantage  to  feed  the  roots  to  his  stock,  thereby 
inci'easing  his  manure — and  in  the  event  of  factories  being 
established  in  his  neighbourhood,  supplying  them  with  the 
products  of  his  farm. 

The  following  comprehensive  account  of  the  process  of 
manufacturing  sugar  from  the  beet,  is  from  the  pen  of  James 
Pedder,  Esq.  He  is  familiar  with  the  whole  system.  It  will 
be  found  as  valuable  as  it  is  interesting. 

The  manufacture  of  sugar  consists  of  seven  distinct  processes. 

1.  Cleaning  the  Roots.  In  many  large  factories  this  is  done  by  washing  in 
long  wooden  cylinders,  with  open  sides,  which  revolve  by  the  power  of  steam 
in  cisterns  of  water:  the  roots  are  thrown  in  at  one  end  of  this  cylinder  and  are 
carried  round  and  ejected  at  the  other  by  a  spiral  or  Archimedes'  screw;  and 
if  the  work  could  be  effectually  performed  by  these  means,  it  would  be  a  great 
saving  of  expense,  but  the  fact  is,  it  is  at  best  a  most  inefficient  mode.  If  the 
roots  have  been  grown  on  a  stiff" soil,  quantities  of  earth  will  still  be^found  ad- 
hering to  them,  maugre  all  your  attempts  to  free  them  from  it.  This  will  do 
great  injury  to  the  teeth  of  the  rasp  while  crushing,  and  will,  I  presume,  be  of 
no  value  in  the  cake  as  food  for  sheep  or  cattle.  The  large  roots  are  often 
I'ound  to  be  hollow  and  partially  decayed  at  the  crown;  this  putrid  matter 
being  acetous,  is  peculiarly  destructive  to  the  yield  of  saccharine,  and  no 
washing  will  remove  it.  The  end  of  the  tap  root  and  the  lateral  fibres  are 
almost  useless  to  the  production  of  sugar — often  very  injurious;  I  therefore 
prefer  to  clean  by  scraping  with  a  knife,  when  the  earth  and  decayed  parts  are 
easily  removed:  the  cuttings  are  greedily  devoured  by  cattle  and  hogs,  and 
that  portion  only  of  the  root  is  used  which  is  best  calculated  to  yield  a  superior 
quality  of  sugar. 

2.  Crushing  or  rasping  the  Roots.  In  no  manufactory,  except  where  mace- 
ration is  practised,  is  this  process  performed  by  any  other  means  tl^pn  by  the 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  199 

rasp.  This  is  a  wooden  barrel,  set  transversely  with  steel  saws  at  half  an  inch 
apart.  It  is  13i  inches  wide,  and  23  inches  diameter,  and  when  propelled  by 
steam,  makes  about  900  revolutions  in  a  minute,  crushing  into  impalpable 
pulp  90  pounds  of  roots  in  that  space  of  time.  Pressing  by  cylinders  has 
often  been  tried,  but  found  to  be  totally  inapplicable  to  the  purpose. 

3.  Pressing  the  Pulp.  The  heat  engendered  by  the  process  of  rasping  brings 
on  instantaneous  fermentation,  which  is  destructive  to  the  yield  of  sugar:  no 
time  is  therefore  lost  in  submitting  the  pulp  to  the  action  of  the  press,  by  which 
the  juice  is  extracted  in  a  surprisingly  short  space  of  time.  In  no  instance  did 
I  witness  this  operation  performed  by  any  but  hydraulic*  pressure,  the  power 
of  which  is  astonishingly  great.  The  machine  for  this  purpose  is  very  ex- 
pensive, but  when  obtained,  the  saving  of  labour  and  time  is  great.  The  pulp 
falls  from  the  rasp  into  a  square  box  below,  from  whence  it  is  taken  in  a  deep 
vwoden  or  copper  shovel,  and  put  into  a  bag  which  is  held  open  for  its  recep- 
tion; it  is  then  placed  upon  a  frame  of  wicker  work,  standing  upon  a  small 
hand-barrow  resting  upon  wheels,  where  it  is  spread  evenly  in  the  bag,  and 
the  mouth  is  then  turned  down  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  pulp  while  under 
the  press;  it  is  then  covered  by  another  wicker  frame  and  another  bag,  until 
the  pile  consists  of  thirty-five  bags  and  wicker  frames.  The  whole  is  then 
removed  to  the  press,  where  a  man  takes  and  deposites  them  on  the  wooden 
platform,  which  sets  on  the  bed  of  the  press,  and  the  pressure  is  then  applied. 
So  soon  as  the  juice  is  extracted,  the  pressure  is  taken  of}',  the  bags  are  emptied 
of  the  dry  cakes,  and  the  press  is  ready  for  another  load.  These  presses  are 
always  worked  in  pairs,  so  that  while  one  is  pressing,  the  other  is  being  load- 
ed. The  juice  ilows  from  the  press  into  a  cistern  beneath  the  floor,  from 
whence  it  is  immediately  pumped  into  the  desiccating  pan,  which  is  placed  so 
high,  that  the  contents  might  flow  from  it  by  a  pipe,  into  the  evaporator. 

4.  Desiccation.  The  desiccator  is  a  copper  pan,  into  which  the  juice  is  pump- 
ed, so  as  to  fill  it  within  four  inches  of  the  top,  when  heat  is  applied,  either  by 
means  of  steam  or  fire.  As  soon  as  the  juice  has  attained  the  heat  of  58"^ 
Reaumur  (162*"  Fahrenheit)  lime  is  added  in  exact  proportion  to  the  acid 
contained  in  it,  which  is  ascertained  by  chemical  tests.  This  lime  is  prepared 
by  slaking  with  hot  water  and  mixing,  so  as  to  he  of  the  consistence  of  cream, 
and  when  it  is  added,  the  greatest  care  is  taken  to  mix  it  most  intimately  with 
the  juice,  by  stirring  with  a  wooden  spatula:  after  this,  it  is  suffered  to  rest, 
and  the  heat  is  raised  to  the  boiling  point,  when  it  is  suddenly  checked  by 
withdrawing  the  steam  or  fire;  as  soon  as  the  juice  has  become  perfectly  clear, 
it  is  run  off  into  the  first  evaporator,  taking  care  that  none  of  the  scum,  or 
sediment  at  the  bottom  of  the  pan  passes  with  it.  The  scum  and  sediment  is 
then  collected,  put  into  bags  and  pressed,  to  obtain  all  the  juice  it  contains; 
after  which,  the  residuum  is  thrown  to  the  dunghill,  a  valuable  manure. 

5.  Evaporation.  The  evaporator  is  a  copper  pan,  into  which  the  clear  def- 
ficated  liquor  flows,  until  the  pan  is  about  a  third  part  full;  to  this,  a  small 
quantity  of  animal  charcoal  is  added,  and  the  fire  or  steam  is  applied;  here  it 
is  boiled  until  it  marks  21*^  by  the  saccharometer,  when  it  is  passed  into  a  re- 
ceiver, from  whence  it  flows  into  the  clarifiers  for  purification.  During  the 
boiling,  if  the  juice  rises  in  the  pan  so  as  to  threaten  to  overflow,  a  small  quan- 
tity of  tallow  is  added,  which  causes  an  immediate  subsidence,  and  facilitates 
evaporation. 

6.  Clarifyijig.  The  clarifiers  are  wooden  or  copper  pans,  2  feet  8  inches 
deep,  20  inches  diameter  at  top,  11  inches  diameter  at  bottom,  each  with  a 
small  brass  cock  near  the  bottom.  A  copper  strainer  standing  on  three  feet 
and  covered  with  canvass,  is  placed  in  the  bottom  of  each  clarifier,  which  is 
then  filled  with  granulated  animal  charcoal,  (about  100  lbs.  in  each  pan,)  and 
is  covered  with  another  copper  strainer  and  cloth,  and  then  the  syrup  is  per- 
mitted to  flow  upon  it  until  the  pan  is  full.  After  it  has  stood  some  time,  the 
cock  is  opened,  the  syrup  is  permitted  to  flow  slowly  into  a  cistern,  and  the 
pans  are  refilled  as  fast  as  they  empty.    From  the  cistern  the  syrup  is  pumped 

*  The  great  variety  of  power  presses  to  be  obtained  in  this  country,  at  com- 
paratively small  cost,  will  obviate  the  necessity  of  always  using  the  hydraulic 
press.T— Piti.  Com. 


200  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

into  the  condenser,  for  a  last  evaporation.  These  clarifiers  are  emptied  of 
their  animal  carbon  twice  in  the  day,  and  filled  with  other,  fresh  burnt  from 
the  kilns.  It  is  found  that  some  of  the  saccharine  remains  in  this  carbon,  it 
is  therefore  put  up  to  receive  the  juice  from  the  desiccator  as  it  peisses  into  the 
first  evaporator,  by  which  means  the  saccharine  is  extracted;  after  which,  the 
animal  carbon  is  turned  out  to  be  washed  preparator)'  to  another  calcination, 
whereby  it  is  rendered  fit  for  farther  use,  ad  infinihnn. 

7.  Concentration.  The  clarified  syrup  is  evaporated  in  the  condenser  to 
41°,  (by  saccharometer.)  at  which  point  it  indicates  signs  of  fitness  for  crys- 
tallization, which  may  be  known  by  the  usual  test,  drawing  between  the  finger 
and  thumb,  when  if  the  thread  break  and  the  end  draws  up  to  the  finger  in  a 
kind  of  horny  substance,  it  is  enough.  Another  mode  is,  to  blow  through  the 
holes  of  the  skimmer,  Avhen  if  the  syrup  be  sufficiently  tenacious  to  form  air 
bubbles  and  fall  to  the  ground,  and  on  bursting  leave  a  white  substance,  it  is 
immediately  removed  from  the  fire. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  crushing  season,  and  when  the  roots  are  fresh 
and  good,  four  pounds  of  lime  will  be  found  sufficient  for  the  desiccation  of  Si 
hectolitres,*  (225  gallons,)  but  as  the  season  advances,  more  lime  will  be  re- 
quired, until  at  length,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  season,  and  when  vegetation 
has  commenced,  as  much  as  7,  and  even  8  lbs.,  have  been  found  necessary  to 
effect  the  purpose;  in  this  case  there  is  danger  of  an  excess  of  lime,  which  is 
taken  up  by  means  of  acid,  applied  at  the  time  of  condensing  the  syrup  for 
the  last  time.  Sulphuric  acid,  reduced  by  water  in  the  proportion  of  44  water 
to  I  of  acid,  is  used  for  this  purpose,  the  exact  quantity  necessary  must  be 
judged  of  by  chemical  test;  if  more  is  used  than  is  proper  to  neutralize  the 
lime,  the  refiners  of  the  sugar  object  to  purchase,  as  it  subjects  them  to  much 
inconvenience,  and  some  loss;  practice,  howev^er,  soon  makes  perfect  this  part 
of  the  business.  When  the  concentration  has  been  carried  to  the  crvstalliz- 
ing  point,  the  syrup  is  poured  into  large  copper  pans,  which  are  placed  in  the 
air,  where  it  remains  about  two  hours,  to  cool,  during  this  time  it  is  stirred 
occasionally,  that  the  cooling  might  go  on  regularly;  it  is  then  poured  into  flat 
pans  made  of  tinned  iron,  2  feet  3  inches  long,  15  inches  wide,  and  3*  inches 
deep,  and  is  then  left  to  crystallize,  in  a  cool  atmosphere,  for  12  hours  and 
sometimes  more.  These  pans  are  then  removed  to  the  stove,  and  set  on  their 
ends  that  the  molasses  may  drain  from  them,  and  in  12  daj's  from  the  making, 
the  sugar  is  fit  for  the  market.  On  removing  the  sugar  from  these  pans,  about 
one-tenth  of  the  contents  is  found  at  the  bottom  edges  to  contain  molasses,  and 
must  be  separated  from  the  cake,  this  is  mixed  with  the  molasses  which  has 
drained  from  the  pans,  is  reduced  to  17°,  (by  saccharometer.)  with  water, 
evaporated  to  21°,  and  is  again  submitted  to  the  clarifying  process;  after  which 
it  is  concentrated  to  41°,  (by  saccharometer,)  for  the  purpose  of  making  sugar 
of  second  quality,  which,  if  well  done,  is  equal  in  value,  for  the  purpose  of 
refining,  to  sugar  of  first  qualit)'.  When  this  syrup  of  second  quality  is  suffi- 
cientl)'^  concentrated  for  crystallizing,  it  is  poured  into  the  coolers,  and  from 
them  removed  to  cone-shaped  earthen  pans,  and  placed,  first  in  the  cool,  and 
afterwards  removed  to  the  stove;  at  the  end  of  about  24  hours  the  stoppers  are 
removed  from  these  pans,  and  the  molasses  permitted  to  flow  away,  and  in 
about  six  weeks  from  this  time,  the  sugar  from  these  pans  is  fit  for  the  market. 
On  removing  these  loaves  from  the  pans,  a  portion  near  the  holes  will  be  found 
to  contain  a  considerable  portion  of  molasses  mixed  with  sugar;  these  por- 
tions are  collected  and  reduced  by  water  to  17°,  (by  saccharometer,)  and  boil- 
ed to  21°,  when  the  syrup  is  passed  through  the  clarifying  pans,  and  con- 
centrated for  crystallizing,  as  above.  During  the  boiling  to  21°.  large  quan- 
tities of  scum  will  arise,  which  must  be  carefully  removed:  this  scum  is  to  be 
washed  with  water,  to  obtain  from  it  all  the  saccharine,  and  this  water  is  then 
used  to  reduce  the  impure  sugar,  from  the  pans,  so  that  nothing  be  lost.  From 
the  molasses  of  these  pans  of  second  quality  sugar,  there  mav  be  extracted 
sugar  of  third  quality,  but  the  labour  and  expense  of  fuel  for  evaporation, 
together  with  the  great  length  of  time  which  it  requires  to  perfect  crvstalliza- 


*  The  hectolitre  is  105  6-10  quarts. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  201 

tion,  sometimes  a  whole  year,  I  am  convinced  it  will  be,  in  this  country,  far 
more  profitable  to  obtain  the  result  in  the  shape  of  beef  and  mutton,  than  in 
sugar. 

The  Vine,  Vitis  vinifera,  and  other  species  of  grape,  yield 
sugar.  But  they  are  rarely,  if  ever,  cultivated  for  this  pur- 
pose; for,  while  they  are  inferior  to  other  plants  for  the  pro- 
duction of  sugar,  they  are  superior  to  any  f9r  the  special  pur- 
pose for  which  they  are  cultivated — the  production  of  wine. 

The  Birch,  Betula  alba,  when  its  stem  is  perforated,  yields 
a  large  quantity  of  juice,  from  which  sugar  may  be  obtained 
by  boiling.  The  inhabitants  of  some  countries  where  the  birch 
abounds,  supply  themselves  in  this  manner  with  a  species  of 
domestic  sugar. 


202 


XII.— PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR   THEIR  NARCO- 
TIC, BITTER  AND  TANNIN  PRINCIPLE. 

I.    TOBACCO. 

Of  the  plants  which  afford  the  narcotic  principle,  the  most 
important  are  the  tobacco  and  the  poppy,  the  former  of  which 
is  very  extensively  cultivated  in  some  parts  of  this  country  as 
an  article  of  commerce.  The  home  consumption  of  tobacco  is 
immense.  The  discovery  of  this  plant  is  supposed  to  have 
been  made  by  Fernando  Cortes,  in  Yucatan,  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  where  he  found  it  used  universally,  and  held  in  a 
species  of  veneration,  by  the  simple  natives.  He  made  him- 
self acquainted  with  the  uses  and  supposed  virtues  of  the  plant, 
and  the  manner  of  cultivating  it,  and  sent  plants  to  Spain,  as 
part  of  the  spoils  and  treasures  of  his  new  found  world. 

The  Portuguese,  however,  were  mainly  instrumental  in  dif- 
fusing the  tobacco  plant  over  Europe  and  the  east.  It  was  in- 
troduced into  France  from  Portugal,  in  the  year  1560,  by 
John  Nicot,  after  whom  the  plant  is  named — Nicotiana. 
The  history  of  the  introduction  of  this  plant  into  various  coun- 
tries, is  very  remarkable.  It  is  known  that  this  plant,  seem- 
ingly nauseous,  has  in  spite  of  the  most  powerful  opposition — 
in  the  face  of  pains  and  penalties  imposed  by  legislative  enact- 
ments— taken  deep  root,  as  it  were,  in  every  country;  so  that, 
at  the  present  time,  it  appears  to  have  become  apparently  es- 
sential to  the  comfort  of  the  inhabitants.  It  required  a  long 
series  of  unjust  and  intemperate  laws  to  arrest  its  progress  in 
England,  and  its  culture  there  is  now  directly  prohibited,  on 
account  of  the  great  revenue  derived  from  the  importation  of 
the  foreign  commodity.  This  system  is  wa'ong;  and  the  Eng- 
lish nation  will  ere  long  see  its  utter  fallacy. 

The  species  almost  every  where  cultivated  in  America,  is 
the  N.  Tabacuni,  or  Virginia  tobacco.  It  grows  in  all  the 
temperate  zones  to  a  high  latitude.  It  is  cultivated  extensively 
in  Germany,  France,  and  the  low  countries — in  Sweden, 
Russia,  and  other  parts  of  Europe — in  some  parts  of  Asia,  and 
the  islands  that  fringe  its  coast.  The  annual  species  may  be 
grown  in  every  country  and  climate;  for  every  country  has  a 
summer,  and  that  is  the  season  of  life  for  annual  plants:  but  in 
such  countries  it  can  never  be  made  an  object  of  profitable  and 
extensive  culture. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  2Q3 

The  tobacco  plant  requires  a  rich  light  soil,  and  its  cultiva- 
tion is  attended  with  considerable  labour  of  detail.  The  seeds, 
which  are  very  minute,  are  generally  sown  in  a  sheltered  place, 
covered  during  the  night  to  defend  them  from  frosts,  and  in 
the  end  of  May,  or  beginning  of  June,  transplanted  to  the 
fields,  and  set  in  rows  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  one  another. 
The  after  culture  consists  in  keeping  the  ground  free  of  weeds, 
removing  insects  and  injured  leaves,  and  picking  off  the  sum- 
mits and  buds,  to  prevent  the  flowering  of  the  plant,  and  to  direct 
the  nourishment  to  the  leaves.  When  tlie  leaves  are  ready,  the 
stems  are  cut  over,  the  plants  hung  up  and  dried,  and  then  put 
into  heaps  for  the  purpose  of  undergoing  a  certain  degree  offer- 
mentation.  They  are  again  hung  up,  the  leaves  being  sepa- 
rated from  the  stems,  and  made  to  undergo  a  second  fermenta- 
tion, under  a  certain  degree  of  pressure.  The  leaves  are  again 
dried  and  tied  together  in  bundles.  They  are  then  packed 
and  compressed  in  casks  for  sale  or  exportation,  which  com- 
pletes the  task  of  the  grower. 

Culture  of  the  Tobacco.  The  following  dissertation  on  the 
method  of  raising  tobacco,  was,  by  request,  laid  before  the  Ken- 
tucky State  Agricultural  Society,  by  John  Johnson,  Esq.,  who, 
it  is  said,  is  a  very  successful  and  experienced  cultivator.  He 
says: 

Tobacco  has  been  for  several  years  an  article  of  profit  to  the  grower,  and 
perhaps  as  much  so  to  the  farmers  of  our  state  as  any  other;  and  from  the  pecu- 
liarity of  our  soil,  is  likely  to  be  a  production  of  Kentucky  much  longer  than 
many  of  the  less  fertile  eastern  states.  As  tobacco  is  a  crop  that  requires  more 
experience  than  almost  any  other,  I  will  commence  with  the  first  step  in  the 
crop,  viz:  Plants.  Plants  should  be  sown  in  February  or  March,  upon  a  light 
or  mellow  natural  soil,  care  being  taken  not  to  sow  them  too  thick.  The  bed 
on  which  they  are  sown  should  be  burned  sufficiently  to  destroy  all  indigenous 
herbage.  The  grounds  upon  which  the  tobacco  crop  is  to  be  raised, "should 
be  prepared  first,  by  coultering  and  ploughing,  if  newly  cleared,  or  by  plough- 
ing only,  if  clear  of  roots;  secondly,  by  bedding  or  throwins'  three  or' four  fur- 
rows (according  to  the  size  of  the  plough)  together,  andliilling.  The  hills 
should  be  about  three  inches  above  the  surface,  and  about  three  and  a  half  feet 
distant  from  each  other,  or  if  the  land  produces  luxuriantly,  mow  in  order  to 
give  room  to  pass  along  the  rows  without  breaking  the  tobacco. 

It  is  not  essential  as  many  suppose,  to  make  land  very  loose  for  tobacco. 
Breaking  the  land  one  and  a  half  or  two  inches  deep,  is  sufficient,  care  being 
taken  to  make  the  hills  loose  where  the  plants  are  to  be  placed  when  trans- 
planted. Roots  in  new  land  are  no  great  obstacle,  as  it  is  not  essential  to  use 
the  plough  the  first  year,  three  workings  with  the  hoe  being  sufficient.  Old 
land  should  be  stirred  oftener,  as  it  is  much  more  disposed  to  bake  or  become 
hard.  The  culture  of  tobacco  is  trifling  compared  with  the  other  part  of  the 
process  of  rendering  it  marketable.  After  the  hills  have  been  made  as  before 
described  and  planted,  the  first  work  should  be  done  with  hoes,  by  scraping  the 
earth  and  herbage,  then  springing  up,  into  the  middle  of  the  row,  forming  a 
ridge  somewhat  like  that  formed  by  running  two  furrows  in  a  corn  row  with 
the  bar  of  the  plough  next  the  corn.  If  the  indigenous  growth  be  of  such  a 
nature  as  not  to  be  easily  destroyed,  it  is  advisable,  after  using  the  hoe,  to  run 
two  furrows  with  a  plough  skirting  the  hills  and  lapping  the  earth  from  the 
mole  of  the  plough  in  the  middle  of  the  rows,  covering  the  ridge  made  by  the 
scraping  with  the  hoe.     After  this,  the  middle  of  the  rows  should  be  ploughed 


204  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

out.  and  the  earth  thrown  around  the  plants,  forming  an  addition  to  the  hills. 
The  third  hoeing,  or  ploughing  if  the  ground  be  baked,  should  be  made  before 
the  tobacco  is  of  a  size  large  enough  to  top,  which  should  be  done  as  soon  as 
the  plants  will  admit  of  being  primed,  (that  is,  the  leaves  taken  off.)  to  the 
height  of  four  or  five  inches,  and  leave  a  sufficient  number  of  leaves  to  top  as 
high  as  is  designed,  say  on  a  tolerable  soil,  fourteen  leaves  for  the  first  or 
largest  plants;  the  next  at  twelve,  gradually  diminishing  as  the  season  ad- 
vances. 

Cutting,  housing  and  curing,  are  the  most  difficult  parts  of  tobacco  growing. 
It  should  not  be  cut  while  the  sun  is  shining  very  hot,  by  which  it  is  very  much 
bruished  in  handling,  if  not  burned  and  rendEered  lifeless.  Care  must  be 
taken  not  to  put  too  many  plants  on  a  stick,  varj'ing  from  eight  to  ten  in  pro- 
portion to  the  size  of  the  tobacco.  Neither  must  it  be  crowded  in  the  house, 
by  which  it  is  much  injured,  called  house  burn.  Tobacco  should  be  fired  as 
soon  as  it  becomes  of  a  permanently  yellow  colour,  which  varies  from  ten  to 
fifteen  days,  by  slow  fires,  and  not  so  as  to  coddle  or  cure  it  in  a  iew  hours.  It 
would  be  better  to  continue  the  process  twentj'-four  or  fortj^-eight  hours  with 
a  moderate  heat,  having  the  house  tight  up  to  the  first  tier,  but  sufficiently 
open  above  for  the  heat  and  vapour,  generated  from  the  green  tobacco,  to 
escape.  After  tobacco  is  cured,  in  long  continuations  of  damp  weather,  it 
should  be  fired  sufficiently  to  dry  and  keep  it  from  moulding.  The  tempera- 
ture of  tobacco  for  pressing,  should  be  as  dry  as  it  can  be  handled  without 
breaking. 

From  observation,  I  am  induced  to  believe  that  land  of  the  second  quality, 
pretty  much  elevated  and  of  an  argillaceous  nature,  whether  new  or  old,  is 
best  adapted  to  raising  tobacco  of  a  superior  quality;  first,  because  such  land 
does  not  put  forth  vegetation  as  rapidly  as  a  richer  and  warmer  soil,  and 
thereby  the  tobacco  acquires  that  fineness  of  texture  and  small  fibres  for  which 
it  is  much  valued;  secondly,  such  land  will  admit  of  the  crop  standing  much 
longer  after  commencing  to  ripen,  by  which  it  acquires  the  great  variety  of 
shades  in  colour,  another  admired  quality;  and  lastly,  the  slow  growth  of  such 
a  soil,  prevents  that  abundance  of  sap  or  juice,  produced  by  a  quick  growth, 
which  materially  injures  this  plant  in  curing:.  It  also  gives  a  stamina  to  the 
leaf,  making  it  much  tougher  than  the  quick  growth.  But  a  very  beautiful 
tobacco  is  produced  upon  silicious  soils,  though  without  much,  if  any,  varie- 
gation of  colour,  its  colour  being  of  a  bright  amber;  and  another  kind,  of  a 
dark  nutmeg  colour,  is  produced  by  the  first  quality  of  onr  uplands;  the  second 
and  third  kinds  are  produced  by  the  calcareous  uplands  of  our  state. 

Land  should  be  of  sufficient  strength  to  produce  forty  bushels  of  Indian 
corn  to  the  acre,  to  raise  good  tobacco.  And  I  would  fix  upon  that  as  the 
medium  strength,  an  addition  of  much  extent,  would  make  the  fibres  coarse 
and  the  growth  too  luxuriant.  Much  less,  would  not  produce  a  sufficient  crop 
to  pay  the  expense  of  cultivation,  (though  perhaps  the  quality  might  be  bet- 
ter,) unless  a  greater  difference  were  made  by  purchasers  in  the  difllsrent 
classes  of  tobacco.  Land  that  requires  manure,  should,  as  before  stated,  be  of 
an  argillaceous  nature.  The  best  manure  is  that  of  decayed  vegetable  sub- 
stances— wheat  straw  being  one  of  the  finest  manures  I  have  ever  tried;  the 
straw  has  a  tendency  to  give  tobacco  that  variegation  of  colour  before  men- 
tioned. Stable  manure  does  not  answer  so  well.  It  gives  a  dark  greenish 
colour,  makes  the  growth  too  luxuriant  and  the  fibres  too  large. 

The  best  method  of  manuring  is,  to  scatter  the  manure  before  breaking  the 
ground,  as  it  is  thereby  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  earth,  and  is  deprived  of 
its  burning  or  heating  effects  in  a  dry  season;  when  put  in  the  hills  it  causes  a 
dirth  by  heating  and  absorbing  the  moisture.  I  have  for  many  years  tended 
the  long  green  tobacco.  I  have  also  grown  the  Blue  Prior,  Big  and  Little 
Frederick.  But  of  the  four  varieties,  I  prefer  the  first,  it  not  being  so  subject 
to  speck  or  black  in  spots  while  ripening. 

Produce.  The  returns  on  a  good  soil,  favourable  season, 
and  attentive  culture,  will  generally  reach  one  thousand  pounds 
to  the  acre,  in  Maryland  and  Virginia;  but  on  the  fresh  rich 
lands  of  the  south-western  states,  the  crop  not  unfrequently 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  205 

reaches  fifteen  hundred  pounds.  The  average  throughout 
the  tobacco-growing  districts,  will  probably  reach  a  "hogs- 
head" weighing  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  which 
is  a  good  crop,  and  aflfording  sufficient  employment  for  one 
hand. 

To  save  the  seed  allow  a  few  of  the  strongest  plants  to  pro- 
duce their  flowers;  they  will  have  a  most  beautiful  appearance 
in  July  and  August,  and  in  a  favourable  season,  each  plant  will 
ripen  in  September  as  much  seed  as  may  be  necessary  for 
sowing  a  quarter  of  an  acre,  by  the  drill  system  of  culture,  or 
stock  half  a  dozen  acres  by  transplanting.  The  large  plants 
require  about  a  square  yard  each;  and  in  general,  four  plants 
will  yield  a  pound  of  tobacco,  though  very  rich  land  will  yield 
double  the  quantity.  The  diseases  and  enemies  to  which  this 
plant  is  liable,  are,  in  the  language  of  the  planter,  "worm-holes, 
ripe-shot  or  sun-burnt,  moon-burnt,  house-burnt,  stunted  in  the 
growth,  torn  by  storms  of  hail  or  wind,  injured  or  killed  by 
frost." 

During  the  year  ending  September  30, 1837,  tobacco  to  the 
value  of  five  million  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand 
six  hundred  and  forty-seven  dollars  was  exported  from  the 
United  States  to  foreign  countries. 


II.    THE  HOP. 

The  Hop,  Humidus  Lupulus,  is  a  native  plant,  and  is  found 
growing  spontaneously  on  the  banks  and  intervals  of  many 
of  our  large  rivers.  It  has  been  cultivated  for  its  flowers,  which 
are  used  for  giving  a  better  flavour  to  beer,  and  also  for  pre- 
serving it,  as  well  as  for  various  other  purposes,  though  the 
first  mentioned  is  the  principal  one.  It  is  a  perennial  rooted 
plant,  with  an  annual  twining  stem,  which,  on  poles  or  in 
hedges,  will  reach  the  height  of  from  twelve  to  twenty-five 
feet.      There  are  several  varieties. 

The  hop  is  raised  from  slips  taken  from  the  stem,  or  from 
sets  taken  from  the  root.  They  are  planted  either  in  autumn 
or  in  spring,  but  the  latter  season  is  most  generally  preferred. 
The  plant  is  in  full  bearing  in  its  third  year;  and  a  plantation, 
if  properly  attended  to,  judiciously  located,  and  on  good  soil, 
will  yield  profitable  returns  for  twelve  to  eighteen  years,  when 
it  must  be  renewed;  the  old  plants  being  grubbed  up  and  fresh 
sets  planted.  The  slips  or  sets  are  obtained  from  the  pruning 
of  the  old  plantation,  or  from  the  roots.  Each  slip  should  con- 
18 


206  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

tain  two  joints  or  buds.     They  are  frequently  planted  in  a  gar- 
den for  a  season,  before  being  set  in  a  plantation. 

Forming  plantations  of  hops — preparation  of  the  ground, 
culture,  <§'C. — Col.  Samuel  Peabody,  of  Amherst,  New  Hamp- 
shire, has  been  a  successful  cultivator  of  the  hop  for  the  last 
twenty  years.  He  furnished  by  request  the  following  account 
of  his  method  of  forming  his  plantation  of  hops,  their  culture, 
&c.  &c.*  It  is  the  best  account  we  have  yet  seen — fully  sus- 
taining that  of  Mr.  BLANCHARot — and  coming  from  a  practical 
and  intelligent  cultivator  of  twenty  years  successive  experience 
in  its  culture,  we  think  we  cannot  do  our  readers  a  greater  ser- 
vice than  by  incorporating  it  in  this  work. 

I  cultivate  the  various  farinaceous  productions  of  New  England,  like  most 
farmers.  But  hops  constitute  my  principal  crop.  I  have  picked  twentv  suc- 
cessive crops  of  that  vegetable.  1  here  give  a  list  of  the  quantity  raised  by  me 
in  the  following  vears.  In  the  vear  1829, 800  pounds— 1830,  3,400— 1831 , 4,565— 
1832,  6,400—1833,  11,560—1834,  11,000—1835,  5,297 — 1836,  13,540 — 1837, 
11,100 — 1838,  7,824.  Total,  75,486  pounds.  In  some  years  1  have,  averaging 
the  whole,  raised  more  than  two  pounds  to  the  hill,  butoftener  less.  The  years 
1835  and  1838  were  very  unfavourable,  and  the  crops  suffered  much.  This 
crop  like  others  is  variable.  It  is  impossible  to  calculate  with  much  accuracy 
beforehand  the  quantity  to  be  raised  from  a  given  nuinber  of  hills.  But  it  may 
be  done  with  more  certainty,  than  upon  corn  or  wheat.  In  1838  the  drought 
bore  very  hard  and  stinted  the  crop  more  than  others. 

The  first  thing  to  be  attended  to  is  the  poles.  The  best  species  of  trees  are  the 
cedar,  spruce,  hemlock  and  white  pine — white  birch  and  hard  wood  are  some- 
times used,  when  those  named  are  scarce;  but  they  are  poor  things.  The  poles 
should  be  cut  in  the  winter,  drawn  home  and  shaved  all  over  lightly,  except 
near  the  top,  and  sharpened  ready  for  use. 

The  soil  for  hops  may  be  good,  dark,  deep,  rich  loam,  or  it  mav  be  light, 
sandy  and  poor.  Like  other  crop.s,  however,  similarly  situated,  the  crop  of 
hops  will  accordingly  be  heavy  or  light.  I  have  tried  different  kinds  of  soil, 
even  to  the  extreme.  Of  late  years,  I  have  used  good  intervale,  and  my  reward 
has  corresponded.     In  short,  good  corn  ground  is  good  hop  ground. 

The  preparation  of  the  ground  is  no  difficult  mailer.  Prepare  a  piece  well 
for  Indian  corn,  and  it  is  prepared  for  hops.  Some  people  are  very  particular 
in  lining  out  their  rows  of  hops,  while  others  strike  out  the  ground  with  a 
horse  and  plough,  judging  of  distances  by  the  eye.  In  striking  out  my  rows, 
I  generally  use  a  pole  to  be  drawn  by  two  men;  to  which  pole  is  attached  three 
or  four  draft  chains,  placed  at  half  the  distance  of  hop  hills.  Because  every 
other  row  each  way  is  to  be  planted  the  first  year  with  the  seed  of  some  other 
crop,  generally  Indian  corn.  As  hops  become  more  or  less  troublesome  by 
rising  or  growing  up  very  inconveniently  above  the  level  of  the  field,  I  there- 
lore,  of  late,  take  pains  to  sink  my  hills,  where  the  ground  is  sufficiently  dry 
to  admit  of  it.  This  is  done  by  men,  who  take  each  a  sharp  steel  shovel,  and 
at  every  cross  of  the  chain  where  the  hop  is  to  be  planted,  spade  down  about 
the  length  of  the  blade,  and  take  out  the  turf  and  soil,  one  and  a  half  to  two 
feet  square,  and  lay  it  on  one  side.  Into  these  holes  I  usually  put  two  shovels 
full  of  old  manure,  or  good  compost.  I  will  just  observe,  however,  that  before 
ploughing,  I  have  of  late  spread  a  good  coat  of  manure,  which  was  of  course 
turned  under  by  the  plough.  Upon  the  top  of  this  old  manure  in  the  hole  and 
near  the  centre  of  the  hill  we  drop  three  cuts  of  hop  roots  nine  to  twelve  inches 
long,  and  then  cover  the  depth  of  corn. 


*  Farmer's  Mori'ily  Visiter,  vol.  i.  page  34. 
t  Complete  Farmer,  page  150. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  207 

The  roots  for  plonling  must  be  taken,  as  is  well  kno-n-n  among  all  hop 
growers,  from  what  is  called  the  sprout  roots.  These  are  entirely  different  from 
the  ground  roots.  The  latter,  like  roots  of  other  plants,  support  the  stalk,  and, 
having  no  eyes,  would  not,  if  planted,  produce  a  blade.  Whereas  the  sprout 
roots  appear  to  be  arms,  shooting  out  under  ground,  and  if  unmolested,  would 
throw  up  tops  from  every  pair  of  eyes  at  every  distance  of  about  six  inches. 
These  sprout  roots  are  cut,  as  I  have  said,  into  lengths  of  about  one  foot  for 
planting,  allowing  three  pairs  of  eyes  to  a  piece. 

The  didance  behcccn  hills  is  iviporlant.  On  rich  soil,  well  husbanded,  they 
should  be  further  apart  than  on  that  of  poor  or  medium  quality.  At  my  last 
planting  on  a  deep  rich  loam,  I  put  the  hills  eight  and  a  half  feet  apart  by  mea- 
sure, and  with  which  I  am  satisfied.  On  poor  soil  seven  feet  distance  might 
do.  If  they  be  too  near  each  other,  there  is  too  much  shade,  and  the  fruit  is 
both  small  in  quantity  and  poor  in  quality. 

The  poles  should  be  of  a  proper  length,  twenty  feet  or  more,  on  rich  land — 
and  on  poor  land  shorter.  If  poles  are  too  short,  the  bind  or  vine,  after  run- 
ning to  the  top,  doubles  down,  and  running  round,  makes  a  great  bushy  head, 
or  otherwise  strikes  oft' to  the  poles  of  the  neighbouring  hills.  In  the  last  case 
there  may  be  ten  or  twenty  hills  with  the  vines  completely  interlocked,  pro- 
ducing a  very  unpleasant  effect.  This  is  what  the  English  call  "ho7t.sing"  the 
connected  tops  bearing  some  resemblance  to  the  roof  of  a  house.  The  conse- 
quence is,  that  the  fruit  grows  in  the  shade  and  single  instead  of  in  clusters, 
.^oft,  green,  feeble  and  deficient  in  strength.  It  also  makes  the  picking  slow  and 
troublesome,  and  the  labour  of  the  box-lenders  much  more  severe. 

The  opening  and  dressing  of  the  hills  is  another  important  epoch  of  the  sea- 
son. I  begin  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground  by  back  furrowing  length- 
wise and  crosswise  with  a  strong  team,  usually  two  pair  of  oxen,  and  two  bouts 
in  a  row.  Then  come  the  men  with  the  prong  hoes,  throwing  off"  the  soil  from 
the  top  and  sides  of  the  hill  and  hauling  up  the  sprout  roots,  as  they  come  to 
them,  and  opening  the  hill,  as  far  down  as  they  can,  without  injury  to  the 
ground  roots.  We  take  pains  to  make  the  hill  soft  and  suitable  to  receive  the 
rains. 

The  trimming  is  next  in  order.  This  operation  is  always  performed  with  a 
knife,  cutting  the  sprout  roots  two  or  three  inches  from  the  stump,  taking  care 
to  amputate  the  old  snout,  i.  e.  the  stump  of  the  old  vine  down  for  two  sets  of 
eyes,  and  even  more  if  it  will  admit.  Cutting  off  the  old  snout  should  never  be 
omitted,  as  vines  from  the  eyes  of  it  never  prosper;  and  an  additional  reasoa 
is  to  keep  the  hill  as  low  down  as  possible. 

The  manuring  of  a  bearing  field  must  be  attended  to.  The  manure  is  ap- 
plied in  various  W'ays  and  at  various  times,  according  to  the  taste  and  judg- 
ment of  the  grower.  Some  manure  in  autumn,  laying  one  or  more  shovels  full 
on  the  top  of  the  hill,  without  any  covering.  This  is  an  old  fashioned  practice, 
and  as  I  view  it,  a  very  indiscreet  one.  If  the  owner  should  not  lose  more  than 
one  half  of  his  manure,  he  may  consider  himself  well  off.  Another  method  is 
to  spread  the  manure  in  the  spring  and  plough  it  in.  This  plan  I  consider  very 
judicious,  if  the  planter  have  a  good  supply  of  the  article;  and  in  that  case,  no 
matter  how  strong  the  manure.  One  old  way  was  to  lay  the  manure  on  the 
top  of  the  hill  after  trimming  off  the  sprout  roots  in  the  spring,  and  then  cover- 
ing with  soil.  But  this  is  bad.  In  the  first  place,  the  requisite  quantity  of  soil 
to  cover  the  manure  to  a  proper  depth  makes  the  hill  too  high  and  troublesome. 
,  Another  inconvenience  is,  that  the  young  hop  blades  find  it  dilhcult  to  pene- 
1  trate  the  covering,  and  many  are  compelled  to  find  their  way  out  of  the  sides. 
For  the  last  eisht  or  ten  years,  I  have  invariably  laid  my  manure,  generally 
two  shovels  full  to  the  hill,  (and  I  prefer  old  or  good  compost,)  round  the  hill 
in  the  circle  made  by  the  hoes  in  opening.  Thus  applied,  I  consider  it  better 
for  the  hops,  giving  a  better  shaped  hill  also,  better  saved,  as  it  is  covered 
deeper,  and  better  every  way;  in  fact,  the  best  way,  except  perhaps  spreading. 
This  being  done,  then  cover  the  hill  and  the  manure;  the  top  of  the  hill  two  or 
three  inches,  and  the  sides  will  get  covered  necessarily  double  that  thickness, 
as  they  should  be. 

Setiing  the  poles  is  the  most  laborious  part  of  the  whole  work.  I  always  have 
my  ownpoles  laid  out  between  two  rows  of  hills,  four  together  and  the  butts 


208 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 


opposite  the  two  hills  in  which  they  are  to  be  placed,  and  so  on  through  the 
field.  The  holing,  (which  is  a  previous  step  to  setting  the  poles,)  is  done  with 
iron  bars.  For  a  few  years  I  have  had  my  pole  holes  all  made  toward  the 
diagonal  corners  of  the  hills,  placing  them  as  near  together  as  circumstances 
will  admit  to  keep  the  hill  conveniently  small,  and  leaning  them,  as  all  hop 
poles  must  lean,  towards  the  hills  diagonally  opposite.  For  this  method  of 
setting  poles  there  are  strong  reasons.  First  the  space  between  rows  is  equi- 
distant each  wa)'.  But  the  principal  reason  is,  that  it  gives  more  space  be- 
tween poles,  so  that  the  vines  shall  not  i  each  across  and  mterlock.  When  the 
rows  are  eight  feet,  the  distance  gained  for  the  poles,  compared  with  the  old 
■way,  is  about  four  feet. 

Tying  the  vines  to  the  poles  is  an  indispensable  part  of  the  operation.  It  re- 
quires care  not  to  injure  the  tender  shoot.  If  injured,  break  it  off  and  let  the 
stump  throw  out  another.  The  tying  should  be  repeated  as  often  as  circum- 
stances require.  In  Milford  we  continue  to  apply  our  strings  as  occasion  may 
require,  till  the  vines  mount  near  to  the  top  of  the  poles,  using  hop  ladders.  Old 
woollen  stocking  legs  furnish  the  best  tie  yarn. 

At  the  first  hoeing  the  useless  vines  should  all  be  killed.  To  prepare  for 
hoeing.  I  alwa3'^s  plough  two  bouts  in  a  row  each  way,  sometimes  from  and 
sometimes  to  the  hill.  I  never  plough  from  the  hill  more  than  once  in  a  season. 
At  the  second  or  third  hoeing,  I  frequently  hoe  from  the  hill,  or  rather  down 
the  hill.  I  settle  the  hoe  into  the  ground  to  the  depth  of  one  and  a  half  inches, 
and  as  near  the  pole  and  vine  as  safety  to  the  latter  will  admit,  drawing  the 
hoe  down  to  the  furrow,  and  skimming  off  the  top  of  the  hill  to  that  depth. 
This  plan  kills  weeds  equally  well,  lightens  and  opens  the  ground,  and  abates 
that  nuisance  to  all  hop  growers,  viz:  an  overgrown  hop  hill. 

Hop  yards  are  kept  up  so  many  seasons  as  to  be  much  exposed  to  weeds.  The 
most  eminent  grower  in  Massachusetts,  now  deceased,  once  informed  me  that 
his  practice  was  to  pasture  his  horse  at  times  in  his  hop  field  to  reduce  the 
weeds.  And  I  have  repeatedly  known  the  growers  to  go  into  their  fields  with 
scythes  and  shorten  them  in  that  way.  Years  since,  when  I  was  suffering 
with  these  dilBculties  and  the  weeds  were  carrying  on  open  hostilities  against 
me,  and  the  question  must  be  settled  who  should  fall  and  who  survive,  1  had 
the  presumption  to  plough  and  hoe  my  hops  as  late  as  the  middle  of  August. 
On  the  succeeding  year  there  was  scarcely  a  vestige  of  a  weed.  And  I  have 
repeated  the  practice  as  occasion  required.  On  my  first  experiment,  I  did  it 
with  trepidation,  as  on  examination,  I  found  the  ground  near  the  surface  exu- 
berantly interlarded  with  capillary  hop  roots.  The  operation  destro)'ed  all 
my  vegetable  enemies  for  that  and  some  succeeding  )'ears;  and,  as  I  judged, 
did  the  field  as  much  good  (and  perhaps  more)  by  getting  rid  of  so  many  de- 
pendants and  loosening  the  ground,  as  harm  by  destroying  the  capillary  roots. 
At  any  rate,  I  had  a  noble  crop  that  year.  I  do  not  recommend  it  for  general 
and  annual  practice;  but  I  do  recommend  it  as  indispensable,  on  certain  occa- 
sions. 

There  is  little  more  to  be  done  to  hops,  at  hay  time,  but  occasionally  to  set 
up  windfall  poles.  On  the  25th  of  July  you  will  find  them  in  full  blossom. 
Success  in  this  crop  depends  more  than  any  other,  upon  the  care  and  skill  of 
man. 

Hops  must  be  picked  when  they  are  ripe,  and  upon  no  consideration  before 
that  time.  All  other  business  must  be  made  to  accommodate  itself  to  hop 
picking;  as  the  whole  labour  upon  them  is  lost  or  saved  by  timing  thrs  matter 
with  much  precision.  I  believe  that  there  have  been  more  hops  damaged  by 
the  hand  of  man  in  picking  too  early,  than  all  other  ways  put  together.  When 
hops  are  ripe,  the  seeds  are  black,  the  fruit  (the  calices)  approach  more  or 
less  to  straw  colour,  and  being  rubbed  in  the  hand,  give  out  a  strong  and  fra- 
grant odour. 

To  settle  the  question  of  the  time  of  picking  may  demand  long  experience. 
Let  those  who  are  inexperienced,  guide  by  those  whose  hops  are  annually  re- 
puted the  best.  Fields  differ,  no  doubt,  somewhat  as  to  the  time  of  ripening. 
After  twenty  years  of  experience  upon  the  subject,  nine  of  which  has  included 
the  duties  of  inspector,  I  believe  that  few  hops  are  trulj'  ripe  and  fit  for  pick- 
ing before  the  10th  of  September.    I  find  a  memorandum  in  my  inspection 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  209 

book  of  1833,  in  these  words,  "among  the  hops  inspected  this  year,  I  find  those 
picked  from  the  10th  to  15th  of  September,  to  be  best."  There  is  one  gentle- 
man in  Milford,  who  was  for  years  distinguished  above  all  others  for  the  ex- 
cellence of  his  hops.  I  remember  that  one  year  he  did  not  begin  his  picking 
till  the  14th  or  15th  day  of  September.  When  he  ordinarily  begins,  I  know 
not.  Hops  should  not  be  picked  when  wet.  Being  picked  with  the  dew  on  is 
some  slight  injury.  I  never  sutfer  my  hop  pickers  to  go  out  till  after  break- 
fast. 

Hops  should  be  picked  dean  of  stems  and  leaves.  If  any  one  thinks  that  those 
extra  ingredients  are  of  little  consequence,  let  him  pick  them  separately  and 
make  his  own  small  beer  and  yeast  from  that  stock,  and  send  the  clear,  clean, 
dry  picked,  well  dried,  ripe  fruit  to  those  who  are  ready  to  pay  cash  and  the 
highest  price  therefor.  It  is  due  to  the  marlvet,  and  due  to  the  inspector,  to 
present  your  crop,  of  as  good  a  quality  as  Providence  has  given,  and  without 
deterioration  from  the  hand  of  man.  Self  interest  ought  to  induce  much  care, 
as  the  article  must  pass  the  ordeal  of  inspection.  But  I  think  that  inspectors, 
(some  of  them  at  least,)  are  not  apt  to  exercise  due  vigilance  with  respect  to 
dirty  hops. 

Bagging.  After  a  very  varied  practice  of  transporting  bops  from  the  fields 
to  the  kilns,  there  is  now  a  pretty  well  established  custom  of  putting  them  into 
bags  for  that  purpose.  I  have  for  some  years  practised  this  mode.  My  bags 
are  six  feet  long,  and  so  wide  as  to  have  them  emptied  from  the  box  into  the 
bags  with  bushel  baskets.  This  is  a  convenient  size  for  a  man  to  handle. 
The  green  hops  should  not  be  trod  into  the  bags.  It  is  almost  impossible  for 
me  to  enumerate  all  the  ways  of  damaging  this  article.  Green  hops  cannot 
lay  long  in  boxes  or  thick  piles,  and  especially  in  bags,  without  injury. 

Hops  should  be  laid  light  upon  the  kiln  doth.  Mine  are  always  handled  over, 
after  they  are  emptied,  and  laid  as  light  as  possible  upon  the  kiln  cloth.  If 
they  are  allowed  to  lay  as  they  are  emptied,  in  a  dense  mass  with  no  operation 
except  that  of  levelling,  they  never  dry  even,  and  never  dry  well. 

The  process  of  drying  is  generally  considered  the  most  diflicut  part  of  hop 
business.  There  are  various  ways  in  which  hops  may  be  spoiled  or  damaged, 
after  they  are  well  grown,  well  picked  and  well  laid  upon  the  kiln.  Three 
quarters  of  a  pound  when  dry,  to  a  square  foot  of  kiln  cloth,  is  enough.  I 
should  prefer  one  half  a  pound  to  a  square  foot.  When  thin,  they  come  of? 
brighter.  They  should  be  allowed  to  lay  upon  the  kiln  about  or  quite  twenty- 
four  hours.  If  moderation  is  expedient  at  any  time  it  is  in  hop  drying.  The 
fire  at  first  should  be  moderate,  and  after  the  hops  are  well  warmed,  it  should 
be  increased  to  a  proper  degree  and  kept  as  even  as  possible  till  the  work  is 
finished.  If  circumstances  will  admit,  it  is  best  to  let  them  cool  down  upon 
the  kiln  before  removing.  In  which  case,  thej'  are  not  so  dry  and  husky,  and 
are  less  liable  to  lose  a  portion  of  that  part,  which  solely  constitutes  their 
worth,  viz:  the  lupulin,  commonly  called  the  flour.  In  shoving  them  otf 
when  dry,  more  or  less  of  that  flour  shakes  out  and  sifts  through  our  thin, 
strainer-like  kiln  cloths,  and  is  lost  in  the  kiln  below.  There  is  one  gentleman 
in  Lyndeborough,  who  takes  this  precaution,  after  the  hops  are  dry  and  before 
removing,  to  suspend  a  Burlap  cloth  beneath  his  kiln  cloth,  to  save  the  flour. 
The  Burlap  is  then  removed,  emptied,  and  the  kiln  prepared  for  fresh  hops. 
His  kilns  are  so  constructed,  as  to  be  easily  entered  by  a  door.  Hops  are 
sometimes  over  dried,  but  oftener  under  dried.  If  scantily  dry,  they  should 
not  be  laid  promiscuously  in  large  piles,  but  by  themselves,  and  thin,  and  where 
they  can  have  air.  In  such  case,  it  may  be  necessary  too  to  shovel  them  over. 
But  after  hops  are  once  dry  and  laid  away,  I  prefer  not  to  be  imder  the  neces- 
sity of  moving  them  until  they  are  bagged,  as  I  consider  repeated  exposure  to' 
air  by  shoveling  over,  of  some  injury  to  the  colour  and  no  doubt  to  the  flavour. 
Dry  hops  should  not  be  laid  where  they  will  feel  the  heat  of  the  steam  of  the 
hot  kilns. 

If  they  feel  the  continued  heat  from  the  drying  kilns,  the  drying  process  is 

still  unnecessarily  and  injuriously  continued,  and  they  consequently  lose  apart 

of  that  excellent  flavour  and  fragrance  which  constitutes  the  properties  of  first 

sort.    They  are  also  liable  to  become  chafl"y.     If  they  lie  within  reach  of  the 

18* 


210  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

rising  and  drifting  steam  of  the  hot  kilns,  they  will  be  coloured  and  injured  by 
the  steam  settling  down  upon  them. 

After  hops  are  dried  and  removed  from  the  kilns,  they  should  be  allowed  to 
remain  in  a  cool  place,  neither  too  close  nor  too  airy,  for  a  week  or  fortnight, 
to  go  through  with  an  after  process,  commonly  called  toughening.  It  is  the 
same  process  through  wh^ch  hay  and  the  straw  of  grain  and  all  such  products 
pass,  after  packing  away.  After  hops  are  removed  from  the  kiln  and  suffi- 
ciently dry  for  that  purpose,  there  is  still  some  moisture  left  in  some  of  them, 
either  in  the  core  or  the  thick  part  of  the  leaves,  which  will  escape  by  nature's 
law  of  evaporation,  some  of  it  lodging  in  the  leaves,  that  are  now  dry,  render- 
ing the  whole  mass  tough,  and  some  portion  escaping  into  the  air. 

After  hops  have  laid  long  enough  to  be  fit  for  bagging  without  risk,  the 
sooner  it  is  done  in  my  opinion,  the  better;  as  they  waste  less  in  strength  and 
flavour  after  they  are  screwed  into  bags,  than  they  do  when  lying  loose  in 
bulk. 

There  arc  a  number  of  varieties  of  the  hop,  Humulus  L/upulus.  Beside  the 
male  hop,  I  know  of  but  three  varieties,  viz:  the  long  whites,  the  French  and 
the  teasel.  Mine  are  the  long  white,  as  are  most  of  the  hops  raised  in  this 
vicinity.  This  is  also  esteemed  the  best,  both  as  to  its  productiveness  and  the 
quality  of  the  product. 

In  one  respect  hops  are  an  exception  to  the  farinaceous  and  most  other  kinds 
of  agricultural  crops,  as  neither  by  fermentation,  distillation,  or  any  other 
process,  can  they  be  made  to  produce  an  intoxicating  liquor.  They  are  a 
strong  antiseptic,  and  are  used  to  preserve  yeast  and  beer  of  all  kinds,  and 
perhaps  other  materials.  The  quantity  of  hops  raised  in  this  country  has 
varied  from  year  to  year,  ranging  from  one  million  to  three  million  pounds. 
An  average  crop  in  Great  Britain  is  about  forty-four  million  pounds.  The 
amount  of  our  crop  for  the  last  year  or  two  has  exceeded  a  million;  and  per- 
haps has  come  up  to  a  million  and  a  half.  When  the  shippers  find  it  a  good 
article  of  export,  our  hop  growers  find  themselves  very  liberally  paid  for  their 
long  course  of  care  and  labour  in  growing  and  curing  the  article. 

The  estimated  number  of  inhabitants  in  the  United  States  is  fifteen  millions. 
Allowing  five  individuals  to  a  family,  which  was  about  the  average  in  New 
England  at  the  last  census,  the  quantity  of  hops  raised  in  the  country  would 
give  about  half  a  pound  to  a  family  through  the  nation.  This  is  evidently  a 
small  supply,  for  yeast  and  small  beer,  to  say  nothing  of  the  bakers,  who  are 
regular  and  free  consumers  of  the  article.  However,  much  of  it  goes  with  a 
far  greater  quantity  of  barley  to  be  consumed  by  the  brewers  of  pale  ale  and 
porter. 

To  judge  of  the  quality  of  hops,  as  the  chief  virtue  resides 
in  the  yellow  powder  contained  in  them,  which  is  termed  the 
condition,  and  is  of  an  unctuous  and  clammy  nature,  the  more 
or  less  clammy  the  sample  appears  to  be,  the  value  will  be  in- 
creased or  diminished  in  the  opinion  of  the  purchaser.  To  this 
may  be  added  the  colour,  which  is  of  very  material  consequence 
for  the  farmer  to  preserve  as  high  as  possible,  since  the  pur- 
chaser will  most  generally  insist  much  on  this  article;  though, 
perhaps,  the  brightest  coloured  hops  are  not  always  the  strongest 
flavoured.  The  hop  is  liable  to  many  diseases,  and  the  attack 
of  numerous  insects. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Fidler  to  Judge  Buel  will 
be  found  both  interesting  and  beneficial  to  the  cultivator  of  the 
hop. 

Albany,  August  II,  1834. 
Dear  Sir — Agreeable  to  your  request,  I  send  you  some  account  of  the  method 
of  curing  hops,  as  practised  by  the  most  successful  persons  I  have  known  in 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  211 

that  business,  and  also  take  the  liberty  of  pointing  out  some  of  the  common 
faults  our  western  and  eastern  hop  raisers  fall  into.  There  are  so  very  few 
hops  that  are  brought  to  our  market  of  a  prime  quality,  which  makes  it  one  of 
the  most  disagreeable  tasks  to  select  a  supply,  from  the  large  quantities  that 
are  otTered  for  sale;  and  it  is  truly  lamentable  to  see  the  immense  sacrifice  of 
property  from  the  want  of  care  or  skill  in  their  management. 

It  may  not  be  improper  to  premise,  that  hops,  to  be  productive,  require  a  rich 
soil,  an  airy  situation,  as  well  as  an  occasional  manuring;  even  the  best  lands 
ought  to  have,  every  two  or  three  years  at  farthest,  from  thirty  to  forty  loads 
of  well  rotted  barn-yard  manure  to  the  acre;  and  although  the  wild  hop  is  gene- 
rally found  on  the  banks  near  water,  yet  hops  thrive  well  on  almost  any  good 
land  if  properly  attended  to. 

The  time  of  picking  hops  varies — light  soils  or  elevated  and  dry  situations 
are  earliest;  even  in  a  yard  of  a  few  acres,  situated  on  a  side  hill,  the  highest 
ground  is  often  ready  for  picking  some  days  before  the  lower;  and  sometimes 
from  the  poverty  of  the  land,  the  middle,  or  it  may  be,  the  lower  part  is  ripe 
first.  In  commencing  picking,  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  gathering 
those  first  that  are  ripe,  and  not  in  picking  those  that  are  largest,  as  is  often 
the  case.  The  time  of  picking  may  be  known  by  their  change  of  colour,  from 
deep  green  to  a  light  yellow  tinge.  If  they  have  seeds,  the  hop  ought  to  be 
gathered  as  soon  as  the  seed  turns  brown;  but  the  certain  indication  of  picking 
time,  to  those  who  are  familiar  with  this  article,  is  when  the  lupulin,  or  small 
globules  of  the  bright  yellow  resin,  are  completely  formed  in  the  head  of  the 
hop,  at  the  bottom  of  the  leaves,  and  the  leaves  are  readily  rubbed  from  the 
stem.  The  lupulin  (.or  flower  of  the  hop  as  it  is  commonly  called)  is  the  only 
valuable  part,  and  if  gathered  too  early,  before  it  becomes  perfect  turpentine, 
it  soon  dissipates  and  loses  its  fine  aromatic  flavour  and  all  its  medicinal  quali- 
ties. Hence,  gathering  hops  too  soon  is  a  total  loss,  and  instead  of  imparting 
a  palatable  pleasant  flavour,  and  giving  its  fine  tonic  balsam  to  ale,  they  are 
unquestionably  an  injury,  and  ought  not  to  be  used;  and  if  gathered  too  late, 
the  lupulin  drops  out,  and  the  hop  is  of  no  value:  but  the  experienced  culti- 
vator takes  the  medium,  commences  when  the  hop  is  first  ripe;  has  every  thing 
prepared — his  hands,  kilns,  baskets,  baggings,  &c.  Five  or  six  days  ought  to 
finish  the  whole  process  of  picking  and  caring,  if  his  yards  ripen  about  the 
same  time.  The  hop  should  be  picked  clean,  without  leaves  or  stems,  and  if 
possible  without  dew  on  them,  nor  pressed  too  close,  nor  put  in  too  large  quanti- 
ties, before  going  on  the  kiln,  or  they  will  heat.  No  rule  can  be  given  for  the 
thickness  they  ought  to  be  spread  on  the  kiln,  or  even  for  the  length  of  time 
necessary  to  dry  them.  A  skilful  operator  is  the  only  safety  in  this  process. 
Care  ought  to  be  taken  that  the  kiln  draws  well,  as  much  depends  upon  its 
draft — the  steam  should  not  be  allowed  to  fall  back  on  the  hops,  and  must  pass 
off  freely. 

Preparatory  to  putting  the  hops  on  the  kiln,  it  must  have  a  fire  put  in,  made 
perfectly  dry,  and  fumigated  by  burning  brimstone  to  take  away  all  the  bad 
smell,  and  when  perfectly  sweet,  a  layer  of  hops  put  on,  say  eight  or  ten  inches 
deep,  and  this  may  be  increased  or  lessened  as  the  operator  finds  the  draft. 
The  time  used  in  drying  will  also  depend  on  the  quantity  of  hops  on  the  kiln, 
and  on  the  draft,  say  from  eight  to  sixteen  hours;  but  they  must  not  be  removed 
from  the  kiln  until  the  core  or  stem  of  the  hop  is  crisp  and  well  dried,  they  must 
then  be  put  upon  a  floor,  and  occasionally  turned,  until  the  leaf  becomes  tough, 
when  they  are  ready  for  bagging. 

The  fuel  used  for  drying,  must  be  of  the  sweetest  kind,  and  perfectly  charred, 
and  the  best  is  beach,  birch,  hickory  or  maple.  Pine  may  not  be  used  under 
any  circumstances,  nor  any  brimstone,  only  as  before  directed.  When  the  fire 
is  once  put  to  a  kiln  of  hops,  it  must  never  be  permitted  to  slacken  or  go  out, 
until  they  are  dried.  The  tire  should  never  be  so  hot  as  to  burn  or  leave  the 
least  taint  of  fire  on  them. 

I  would  suggest  to  all  our  hop  raisers  a  system  to  be  adopted  and  never  de- 
viated from — that  is  to  divide  very  carefully  the  hops  into  three  equal  parts  or 
parcels,  the  first,  second  and  last  pickings.  If  six  days  are  consumed  in  pick- 
ing, let  the  hops  of  the  two  first  days,  the  third  and  "fourth  days,  and  the  two 
last  days,  be  kept  separate,  bagged  and  marked;  each  parcel  will  by  this  method 


212  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

be  more  valuable  to  the  brewers,  and  enhance  the  price  of  those  that  should 
thus  be  brought  to  market  if  skilfully  picked  and  cured.  It  would  also  be  a 
good  regulation  to  have  all  our  hop  raisers  put  as  near  as  may  be  two  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds  in  each  bag,  and  have  all  the  bags  of  about  one  size,  say 
live  feet  long,  two  feet  wide,  and  eighteen  inches  thick — this  would  be  more 
convenient  for  the  brewer,  but  particularly  so  for  shipping;  and  should  we  be 
so  fortunate  as  to  rescue  our  hops  from  their  present  degraded  condition,  they 
will  soon  be  one  of  ou  r  principal  articles  of  commerce.  In  a  letter  I  received  a 
few  days  since  from  a  Havre  merchant,  he  remarks,  "the  American  hops  are 
of  all  qualities,  from  the  Vorgue  refuse,  to  the  delicious  fragrant  German;  and 
if  you  could  establish  for  yours  the  reputation  of  the  latter,  they  would  com- 
mand the  market."  There  is  not  perhaps  amongst  the  whole  range  of  resins, 
one  so  delicate,  rich  and  powerful  an  aromatic  as  the  hop,  nor  one  more  easily 
destroyed  by  improper  treatment;  nor  is  there  another  article  of  produce  or 
manufacture  so  Utile  understood  and  so  unskilfully  managed. 

In  connection  with  two  of  the  largest  brewers  in  the  country,  we  purchased 
in  the  Boston  market,  last  fall,  a  quantity  of  hops,  and  in  the  first  shipment  of 
about  two  htmdred  bales,  there  was  not,  after  a  careful  examination,  jointly, 
over  twenty-five  bales  that  ought  to  have  been  used,  and  all  those  were  injured 
by  being  picked  before  they  were  ripe.  This  is  not  an  individual  instance;  it 
is  a  prevailing  evil,  and  of  the  total  amount  brought  to  Albany,  speaking  within 
bounds,  more  than  one-half  are  destro}'ed  or  injured  by  early  picking.  This 
evil  ought  to  be  at  once  remedieii;  but  let  me  caution  your  raisers  not  to  run 
into  the  opposite  extreme,  and  pick  them  as  much  too  late. 

For  the  last  fifteen  years,  I  do  not  recollect  a  season  but  repeated  instances 
have  come  to  my  knowledge,  where  the  farmer  has  totally  lost  his  crop  by  hav- 
ing it  heated  from  neglect  in  not  drying  them  well  on  the  kiln. 

How  truly  mortifying,  when  the  farmer  presents  his  hops,  the  fruits  of  a 
season's  anxiety  and  labour,  to  be  told  they  are  scarcely  fit  lor  manure.  I  do 
know  some  men,  whom  I  esteem  as  men  of  sense  in  other  matters,  year  after 
year  bringing  their  damaged  goods  for  sale,  in  every  other  respect  a  splendid 
article,  and  having  them  heated,  and  Ihis,  after  each  year's  repeated  advice 
and  caution.  Of  the  amount  of  loss  from  this  source,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
form  an  estimate;  it  is  however  large.  There  are  more  hops  injured  from 
partial  drying,  in  seasons  when  the  crops  are  abundant,  than  in  ordinary  years, 
by  not  having  kiln  room  enough,  hence  they  are  hurried  off  undried;  this  evil 
is  easily  corrected  by  having  alwa}'s  rather  too  much  than  too  little  kiln  room; 
the  additional  expense  is  trifling. 

The  next  serious  injury  from  want  of  skill  in  curing,  is  that  of  scorching  or 
burning  the  hops  on  the  kiln.  There  are  large  quantities,  every  year,  of  wes- 
tern hops  destroyed  or  partially  injured  in  this  way.  Our  eastern  hop  raisers 
are  far  before  those  of  our  state  in  curing  them  on  the  kiln.  Scarcely  an  in- 
stance of  scorching  on  the  kiln,  or  heating  after  being  bagged,  is  known  amongst 
them,  and  the  fault  with  us  must  be  want  of  care  or  skill. 

The  hops  of  this  state,  as  a  whole,  are  not  cleanly  picked,  and  are  often  in- 
jured by  having  them  heated  before  going  to  the  kiln.  Many  have  their  kilns 
so  low,  that  the  steam  does  not  go  off,  consequently  the  hop  is  stewed  in  its 
steam,  and  by  this  means  materially  injured.  A  common  practice  of  using 
coal,  partially  charred,  smokes  the  hops,  and  their  rich  flavour  is  materially 
injured,  and  often  totally  destroyed.  That  we  may  not  forget,  let  us  recapitu- 
late our  grievances:  about  one-half  our  hops  are  injured  by  picking  before  ripe, 
(our  eastern  hop  raisers  do  more  injury  in  this  respect  than  our  western  far- 
mers,) another  part  are  injured  by  partial  drying,  and  bagging  them  in  that 
state;  another  part  are  scorched  or  burned;  some  are  heated  before  going  on 
the  kiln;  some  stewed  on  the  kiln;  some  smoked;  some  gathered  with  the 
leaves  and  vines;  some  send  us  brimstoned  hops,  and  a  few  good  fellows  bring 
us  as  fine  hops  as  any  part  of  the  world  can  boast  of,  and  they  ought  all  of  them, 
or  nearly  so,  to  be  of  this  fine  quality. 

Let  our  farmers  make  exertions  to  cure  their  hops  as  well  as  our  eastern 
friends,  and  their  hops  will  find  the  readiest  market  and  the  best  price,  and 
will,  intrin.^iically,  be  near  double  the  value  of  the  eastern,  or  until  the  eastern 
raisers  let  their  hops  ripen  before  they  are  gathered.    It  may  be  justice  to  our 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  213 

friends  of  the  east  lo  state,  that  the  fault  of  picking  their  hops  too  soon,  (and 
this  is  their  only  fault,)  has  been  the  mistaken  advice  of  the  hop  inspector,  who 
has  branded  the  ripe  hops  as  seconds,  and  those  which  were  refuse,  from  being 
picked  too  early,  he  has  branded /tV^^s.  I  have  often,  some  3'ears  since,  remon- 
strated with  the  inspector  on  the  injustice  of  his  branding  the  refuse  as  firsts, 
and  the  firsts  as  seconds.  He  admitted,  in  his  opinion,  the  course  he  was  pur- 
suing was  wrong,  but  some  pale  ale  brewers  had  advised  him  to  brand  the  pale 
hops  as  firsts,  to  encourage  the  picking  early.  These  ill-omened  men  have  done 
incalculable  mischief,  and  an  evil  that  will  take  years  to  repair.  There  are, 
and  it  is  to  be  regretted,  but  few  brewers  who  are  good  judges  of  hops.  I  have 
not,  however,  conversed  with  an  individual,  even  of  my  own  brethren  of  the 
pale  ale  stamp,  who  has  not  admitted  the  propriety  of  all  I  have  advised.  I 
must  again  repeat,  that  hops  too  early  picked,  are  the  worst  refuse  we  get; 
they  are  totally  destitute  of  the  only  valuable  part,  the  resin  or  lupulin.  The 
hop  is  gathered  before  it  is  formed,  having  only  a  sort  of  sap;  not  only  the 
smell,  but  also  every  appearance  of  lupulin  is  soon  dissipated. 

In  submitting  these  brief  remarks  for  the  consideration  of  those  interested, 
it  is  with  a  sincere  hope  that  all  will  unite  cordially  in  endeavouring  to  place 
the  reputation  of  hops  of  America  as  the  be.st  in  the  world. 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  yours,  &c. 

L.  FIDLER. 

J.  BuEL,  Esq. 

There  are  many  other  plants  cultivated  for  their  bitter  prin- 
ciple, and  which  are  good  substitutes  for  the  hop;  but  they  can 
never  be  cultivated  to  a  profit  on  the  farm, 


214 


XIIL— CULTURE  OF  PLANTS  USED  FOR  FORAGE 
OR  HERBAGE. 

Plants  cultivated  for  forage,  says  Low,  are  those  which 
are  known  and  used  either  in  a  green  or  dried  state,  as  the  food 
of  animals.  Plants  cultivated  for  herbage  are  consumed  upon 
the  ground  where  they  are  produced.  Certain  kinds  of  plants 
are  better  suited  for  forage  than  herbage;  but  many  are  adapted 
to  either  purpose,  and  therefore  no  distinct  line  can  be  drawn 
between  the  two  classes — consequently  they  are  not  treated 
separately  in  the  following  pages.  The  limits  of  our  work  will 
not  allow  us  to  go  into  a  minute  detail  or  description  of  the 
great  variety  of  grasses  known  and  treated  of  by  botanists.* 
We  shall  confine  ourselves  mostly  to  such  as  are  now  culti- 
vated among  us — or  are  adapted  to  our  climate,  and  may  be 
introduced  profitably  into  the  system  of  American  husbandry. 

I.    CLOVER 

The  cultivation  of  clover  and  other  herbage  plants  used  ex- 
clusively as  food  for  live  stock,  is  comparatively  a  modern  im- 
provement. Clover  at  this  period,  enters  largely  into  the  suc- 
cession of  crops  on  all  soils — and  in  every  productive  course 
of  management.  The  characteristic  points  of  culture  of  this 
class  of  plants,  are  broadcast  sowing,  mowing,  soiling  and  hay- 
making; and  that  when  cut  for  the  two  last  purposes,  two  or 
more  crops  may  be  had  in  a  season  from  the  same  roots.  Few 
things  have  contributed  more  largely  to  the  modern  improve- 
ment of  husbandry,  than  the  introduction  of  clover,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  rotation  of  crops.  While  it  tends  to  meliorate 
and  fertilize  the  soil,  it  at  the  same  time  affords  an  abundance 
of  wholesome  food  for  every  description  of  farm  stock.  Few 
if  any  plants  surpass  it  in  the  quantity  of  cattle  food  which  it 

*  Sir  John  Sinclair  sa3's,  that  there  are  two  hundred  and  fifteen  difierent 
kinds  of  grasses,  properly  so  called,  which  are  known  or  cultivated  in  Great 
Britain.  The  duke  of  Bedford  caused  a  series  of  experiments  to  be  instituted, 
at  a  vast  expense  of  money,  to  try  the  comparative  merits  and  value  of  these 
grasses  to  the  number  of  ninety-seven.  According  to  these  experiments,  tall 
fescue  grass,  feshua  elatior,  stands  highest  as  to  the  quantity  of  nutritive  mat- 
ter afforded  by  the  whole  crop,  when  cut  at  the  time  of  flowering;  and  meadow 
cat's-tail  grass,  phleuvi  pratense,  called  in  New  England  herd's  grass,  and  in 
the  middle  and  southern  states  timothy  grass,  affords  most  food  when  cut  at 
the  time  the  seed  is  ripe.     Complete  Farmer,  page  15. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  215 

affords.  It  was  the  making  of  the  Low  Countries,  and  although 
not  introduced  into  England  until  the  sixteenth  century, it  has 
converted  some  of  its  poorest  districts  into  the  most  productive 
and  profitable,  and  its  effects  in  this  country  are  certainly  not 
less  beneficial. 

Judge  BuEL  states,  that  "clover,  in  connection  with  gypsum, 
first  became  a  subject  of  notice  and  culture  in  the  counties  about 
Philadelphia,  and  in  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  about  forty- 
five  years  ago."  As  yet,  its  value  has  not  been  duly  appre- 
ciated by  our  American  farmers,  and  consequently  but  little 
comparative  benefit  has  been  derived  from  it  from  what  might 
he  realized  from  its  general  introduction.  In  some  sections — 
embracing  entire  counties — its  worth  is  known  and  appreciated;, 
in  many  such  cases  it  has  imparted  a  new  aspect  to  the  country, 
while  it  improved  and  enhanced  the  value  of  the  land  and  the 
wealth  of  the  cultivator.  The  late  Judge  Peters  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  introducing  the  clover  culture  to  the  attention  of 
American  husbandmen. 

The  species  of  clover  in  cultivation  are — 1.  The  red  clover, 
Trifolium  pratense,  a  biennial,  and  sonietimes,  especially  on 
chalky  soils,  a  triennial  plant,  known  from  the  other  species 
by  its  broad  leaves,  luxuriant  growth,  and  reddish  purple 
flowers.  In  its  wild  state  a  perennial.  It  is  a  native  of  Eu- 
rope and  America.  2.  The  white,  creeping'  or  Dutch  clover, 
( Trifoliicm  ripens,)  a  perennial  plant,  known  by  its  creeping 
stems  and  white  flowers,  is  hardy,  and  suited  to  a  great 
variety  of  soil  and  climate.  No  plant  known  in  the  agriculture 
of  Europe,  is  so  generally  capable  of  cultivation  as  the  white 
clover.  There  are  varieties  of  it,  more  or  less  nutritive  and 
productive.  It  is  usually  mixed  with  one  or  more  of  the 
other  grasses.  3.  The  Trifolium  incarnatum,  crimson 
CLOVER,  is  a  native  of  the  southern  and  central  parts  of  Europe. 
The  colour  of  its  flowers  is  a  beautiful  red,  known  and  culti- 
vated in  some  parts  of  the  United  States  as  Italian  clover. 
Though  an  annual,  it  is  found  very  advantageous  on  dry  sandy 
soils.  In  the  southern  departments  of  France,  where  it  is  ex- 
tensively cultivated,  it  grows  during  the  winter,  (which  must 
be  very  mild,)  and  early  in  spring  affords  abundant  food  for 
sheep;  or,  if  left  for  May,  it  presents  a  heavy  crop  for  the 
scythe,  and  may  be  used  for  soiling  or  making  into  hay.  It 
was  introduced  into  England  so  late  as  the  year  1S24 — is  sown 
in  March,  and  is  in  full  bloom  and  fit  for  the  scythe  by  June. 
Mr.  Ellman  says  it  should  not  be  sown  with  grains  like  other 
clovers,  because  it  grows  so  fast  as  to  choke  them.* 

*  Encyclopaedia  of  Agriculture,  p.  87'3. — Farmer's  Journal,  March  17,  1828, 


216  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

The  soil  most  suitable  for  the  clover  crop  is  a  deep  sandy 
loam,  which  is  favourable  to  its  long  tap-roots,  allowing  them 
to  penetrate  freely;  it  will,  however,  grow  on  almost  any  soil, 
provided  it  be  dry.  The  most  suitable  climate  for  the  clover 
family,  is  one  that  is  neither  very  hot,  dry  nor  cold.  The 
majority  of  leguminous  plants  delight  both  in  a  dry  soil  and 
climate,  and  warm  temperature;  and  clover  will  be  found  to 
produce  most  seed  under  such  circumstances.  The  production 
of  seed  is  only  in  some  situations  an  object  of  the  farmer's  at- 
tention. A  season  rather  moist,  provided  it  be  warm,  is  al- 
ways attended  by  the  most  bulky  crops  of  clover  herbage. 

ThQ  pi'eparation  of  the  soil  and  the  manures,  which  clover 
receives  in  the  ordinary  course  of  farm-culture,  are  those  de- 
signed also  for  another  crop.  The  Farmer's  Assistant  says, 
that  the  best  crops  with  which  to  sow  clover,  are  barley,  oats, 
and  spring  (northern)  wheat.  But  in  this  way  it  frequently 
happens,  that  the  seeds  do  not  germinate,  in  consequence  of 
not  being  covered.  This  difficulty  can  be  obviated  by  a  light 
harrowing,  which  will  also  be  a  benefit  to  the  young  growth 
of  wheat,  rye,  or  oats.  Unless,  however,  the  soils  on  which 
these  crops  are  sown  are  well  pulverized,  and  have  been  some 
years  under  tillage,  clovers  will  not  succeed  in  them,  it  being 
ascertained  that  newly  broken  up  lays  or  pasture  grounds,  can- 
not be  sown  down  or  restored  to  clovers  and  grasses  till  the 
soil  is  thoroughly  comminuted,  and  the  roots  of  the  former 
grasses  and  herbage  plants  completely  destroyed.* 

Sowing.  Clover  is  sown  with  other  grain  both  in  autumn 
as  well  as  in  spring.  Some  prepare  the  seed  for  sowing  by 
steeping  in  water,  and  then  mixing  with  powdered  gypsum,  as 
a  preventive  of  the  attacks  of  insects.  The  manner  of  sowing 
is  generally  broadcast.  It  is  frequently  sown  in  spring  on  the 
wheat  crop  sown  in  the  preceding  fall,  and  harrowed  in.  This 
process,  although  many  plants  are  torn  up  and  misplaced,  in- 
stead of  injuring,  is  of  advantage  to  the  growing  crop  of  wheat. 
The  depth  at  which  the  seed  should  be  buried,  depends  upon 
the  nature  of  the  soil — half  an  inch  may  be  reckoned  the  most 
advantageous  position  in  a  clay  soil,  and  an  inch  in  that  which 
is  light  and  friable.  It  is  a  very  serious  error,  that  small  seeds 
should  be  sparingly  covered.  Misled  by  that  error,  many 
farmers  cover  their  clover-seed  with  a  bushy  branch,  which 
not  only  covers  it  unequally,  but  leaves  a  portion  on  the  sur- 
face to  wither  in  the  air.  Of  clover,  from*ten  to  fourteen 
pounds,  and  of  rye  grass,  about  a  bushel,  are  generally  sown  to 
the  acre.     Sown  with  barley,  along  with  other  seeds,  in  the 

♦  Ag.  Ency.  p.  872. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  217 

following  proportions — twelve  pounds  red  clover,  four  white 
clover,  two  ribbon  grass,  and  one  bushel  of  rye  grass. 

The  after  culture  of  clover  and  rye  f^rass,  consists  chiefly 
of  picking  off  any  stones  or  hard  bodies  which  may  appear  on 
the  surface  in  the  spring  succeeding  that  in  which  it  was  sown, 
and  cutting  out  by  the  roots  any  thistles,  docks,  or  other  large 
grown  weeds.*  A  top  dressing  of  lime,  plaster  of  paris,  marl, 
ashes,  &c.,  is  found  very  beneficial.  So  congenial  is  calcareous 
matters  to  clovers,  that  the  mere  strewing  of  lime  on  some 
soils,  will  call  into  action  clover-seeds,  which  it  would  appear 
have  lain  dormant  for  ages.  At  least  this  appears  the  most 
obvious  way  of  accounting  for  the  well  known  appearance  of 
white  clover  in  such  cases.  But  this  great  wonder  is  thus 
satisfactorily  disposed  of  by  an  intelligent  writer  in  the  Far- 
mer's Cabinet. 

There  are  few  plants  more  widely  dispersed  over  the  surface  of  the  earth 
than  white  clover;  but  where  the  soil  is  poor,  or  otherwise  not  well  adapted  to 
its  growth,  it  is  often  so  small,  and  grows  so  flat  among  the  lower  leaves  of  the 
herbage,  that  it  is  not  perceptible  unless  a  turf  is  cut  and  carefully  examined 
by  dividing  it;  hence,  on  breaking  up  and  manuring  such  soils,  or  simply 
manuring  by  top-dressing,  a  spontaneous  crop  of  white  clover  appears  where 
it  was  never  observed  before,  and  without  any  supply  of  seed:  this  has  led  to 
strange  conclusions  respecting  the  propagation  of  this  plant — many  erroneous- 
ly supposing  that  it  originated  from  ashes  or  marl  without  the  original  inter- 
vention of  seed.  It  has  a  perennial  root,  and  the  central  root  penetrates  to  a 
considerable  depth  in  the  soil,  and  the  plant  is  thereby  better  prepared  to  re- 
sist the  bad  elfect  of  severe  dry  weather,  particularly  on  sandy  soils. 

The  branches  that  trail  on  the  surface  send  down  fibrous  roots  from  the 
joints  which  penetrate  but  a  little  way  into  the  ground:  hence  it  is,  that  the 
white  clover  maintains  itself  in  soils  of  opposite  natures;  for  if  the  surface  be 
too  dry  to  afford  nourishment  to  the  branches,  the  principal  root  preserves  it; 
and  when  the  tenacity  and  retentiveness  of  the  soil  in  a  wet  winter  is  great 
enough  to  rot  the  tap-root,  the  fibres  of  the  runners  preserve  the  plant  in  safety. 
From  this  habit  of  growth,  top-dressings  and  a  frequent  use  of  the  roller  en- 
courage the  growth  of  this  plant  in  an  extraordinary  degree.  When  the  soil 
is  thin,  or  does  not  furnish  food  adapted  to  the  nourishment  of  this  universally 
dispersed  plant,  it  seldom  rises  to  a  head,  and  the  very  small  leaves  lay  close 
on  the  ground,  so  that  its  presence  is  not  noticed,  unless  by  a  very  minute  and 
careful  examination;  but  when  proper  nutriment  is  furnished,  it  springs  up, 
flowers,  and  matures  its  seed  so  as  to  attract  attention,  and  it  excites  surprise 
in  the  minds  of  those  who  were  ignorant  of  the  previous  existence  of  the  roots 
in  the  soil. — Farmer's  Cabinet,  vol.  iii.  p.  284. 

The  gathering  of  the  clover  and  rye  grass  system  is,  either 
by  cutting  green  for  soiling,  by  making  into  hay,  or  by  pas- 
turing. The  systein  of  soiling  will  be  described  elsewhere. 
The  general  practice  heretofore  adopted  and  still  practiced  in  the 
United  States,  of  curing  clover  hay,  is  decidedly  bad,  inasmuch 
as  it  is  injurious.  The  most  approved  method,  and  one  to  be 
generally  recommended,  is  given  in  detail  by  Judge  Buel, 
who  urges  it  with  confidence,  being  sustained  by  a  personal 

♦  Encyclopedia  Agr,,  8974. 
19 


218  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

practice  of  fifteen  years.     The  reader  will  find  it  under  the 
article  "hay-making." 

The  saving  of  clover  seed  is  frequently  attended  with  con- 
siderable labour  and  difficulty.  It  is  necessary  to  take  ofi"  the 
first  growth  of  clover  either  by  feeding  or  with  the  scythe,  and 
to  depend  for  seeds  upon  those  heads  which  are  produced  in 
the  second  crop  in  autumn.  The  growth  reserved  for  seed, 
after  the  first  cutting,  which  should,  in  this  case,  be  done 
earlier  than  usual,  must  be  suifered  to  remain  until  the  husks 
become  perfectly  brown,  when  it  is  cut  and  harvested  in  the 
usual  manner,  leaving  it  on  the  field  till  it  is  very  crisp,  that 
the  seeds  may  become  more  fully  hardened.  It  may  then  be 
laid  away  dry,  until  required  to  be  sent  to  the  clover-mill. 
When  a  crop  of  clover-seed  is  to  be  raised,  it  should  be  from 
the  last  crop  of  the  second  year,  as  suffering  the  crop  to  ripen 
injures  the  roots  for  a  succeeding  crop. 

The  produce  of  clover  hay  on  some  of  our  best  lands,  has 
been  set  down  at  four  tons — three  tons  is  about  the  probable 
average  yield  of  the  country  to  the  acre.  The  produce  in  seed 
varies  from  two  and  a  half  to  six  bushels  per  acre,  when  clean- 
ed. But  both  depend,  in  a  great  measure,  on  soil,  situation, 
and  season.  Dickson,  in  his  "Practical  Agriculture,"  says  it 
bears  hard  on  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  to  let  the  crop  fully 
ripen;  while  others  think  it  exhausts  the  soil  but  little. 

All  the  varieties  of  clover  are  exposed  to  attacks  from  in- 
sects, and  liable  to  various  diseases — among  them  the  blight  or 
mildew.  But  the  crop  rarely  suffers  much  from  this  source. 
A  top  dressing  of  lime  and  ashes  is  said  to  be  fatal  to  the  slugs. 


II.    LUCERN. 

This  plant,  Medicago  saliva,  has  been  cultivated  in  Spain, 
Italy,  the  south  of  France,  and  on  all  the  northern  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  time  out  of  mind,  as  well  as  in  the  countries  of 
the  east.  It  was  familiar  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  from 
whom  we  derive  very  minute  accounts  of  its  nature,  proper- 
ties and  culture.  Lucern  is  a  deep  rooting  perennial  plant, 
sending  up  numerous  small  and  tall  clover-like  shoots,  with 
blue  or  violet  spikes  of  flowers.  In  Persia  and  in  Lima  it  is 
grown  extensively,  and  in  both  countries  it  is  mowed  all  the 
year  round.  "Columella,"  a  Roman  writer,  a  iew  of  whose 
works  on  agriculture  have  fortunately  been  preserved,  "esti- 
mated lucern  as  the  choicest  of  all  fodder,   because  it  lasted 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  219 

many  years,  and  bore  being  cut  down  four,  five  or  six  times  a 
year.  It  enriches,"  he  says,  ''the  land  on  which  it  grows — 
fattens  the  cattle  fed  with  it — and  is  often  a  remedy  for  sick 
cattle." 

The  soil  adapted  to  Liicern  is  deep  and  of  the  lighter  class 
— with  a  free  or  kindly  sub-soil.  Unless  the  sub-soil  be  good 
and  deep,  it  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  cultivate  lucern.  That 
celebrated  agriculturist,  Arthur  Young,  says  that  the  best  are 
all  such  as  are  at  once  dry  and  rich.  Where  these  do  not  exist, 
it  is  better  not  to  attempt  its  cultivation.  Two  methods  of 
raising  this  plant  have  been  recommended  and  practiced.  1. 
Sowing  it  broadcast  in  spring,  sometimes  along  with  a  grain 
crop,  and  sometimes  without  a  crop:  the  latter  is  the  best  prac- 
tice, lucern  not  being  suited  to  grow  freely  under  the  shade  of 
other  plants.  2.  Cultivating  it  in  rows,  which  is  decidedly 
the  best  method.  The  rows  need  not  be  more  than  eighteen 
inches  apart,  which  will  give  room  for  tilling  the  intervals  with 
the  cultivator.  When  sown  broadcast,  sixteen  to  eighteen 
pounds  of  seed  are  required;  when  sown  in  rows,  ten  pounds 
to  the  acre  are  sufficient.  Care  must  be  taken  to  keep  down 
all  weeds  that  spring  up  among  the  plants  and  in  the  rows.* 

In  the  month  of  August  of  the  first  year  when  in  flower,  the 
crop  may  be  mown,  and,  after  the  first  cutting,  the  shoots  may 
be  kept  down  by  a  slight  pasturing  with  sheep — but  not  while 
the  soil  is  wet — nor  continued  until  a  late  period.  Early  in 
the  following  spring  the  ground  is  to  be  horse  or  hand-hoed, 
in  order  that  all  weeds  may  be  removed,  and  the  earth  stirred 
about  the  roots  of  the  plants.  In  the  month  of  May  the  crop 
will  be  ready  for  the  first  cutting.  After  being  cut  the  culti- 
vator is  to  be  freely  used  in  the  intervals.  It  will  now  grow 
with  great  rapidity,  and,  when  ready  for  cutting,  is  to  be  cut 
again,  and,  after  each  cutting,  hand-hoed.  In  this  manner  it 
may  be  mown  four  or  five  times  in  the  season.  It  does  not 
however  arrive  at  its  full  growth;  after  which  it  will  yield  a 
large  return  in  ricli  and  early  foliage.  But  it  requires  to  be 
manured  at  intervals  of  every  fourth  or  fifth  year.  The  ma- 
nure may  be  farm-yard  dung,  spread  upon  the  surface  after  the 
last  cutting  in  autumn,  or  early  in  the  spring.f 

The  difference  in  the  method  of  tillage,  when  the  system  of 
broadcast  sowing  is  adopted,  is,  that  in  place  of  the  cultivator 
and  hand-hoe,  the  common  harrow  is  used,  which,  passing  over 
the  surface,  stirs  the  soil  about  the  roots  of  the  plants,  and  drags 
up  and  destroys  the  weeds;  the  plant  itself  is  benefited  by  this 
rough  treatment. 

*  Professor  Low,        t  Ibid. 


220  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

The  uses  of  lucern  are  various  and  important.  The  plant  is 
eminently  wholesome  and  nutritive.  It  is  well  suited  for  milch 
cows,  causing  them  to  yield  good  and  abundant  milk.  It  is  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  the  feeding  of  horses;  and  it  is  used  with 
great  advantage  for  the  soiling  of  all  kinds  of  stock.  Care  is 
necessary  not  to  give  animals  too  much  at  a  time,  especially 
when  it  is  moist,  as  they  may  be  hoven  or  blown  with  it,  in  the 
same  way  as  with  clover,  and  other  green  food  of  luxuriant 
growth. 

The  produce  of  lucern  cut  four  times  in  the  season,  varies 
from  five  to  eight  tons  to  the  acre. — Loudon.  The  probable 
average,  all  things  favourable,  may  be  set  down  at  seven  tons. 
But  well  authenticated  instances  are  on  record  of  immensely 
large  crops  having  been  raised.* 

To  save  the  seed,  lucern  may  be  treated  precisely  as  the  red 
clover.  It  is  contained  in  small  pods,  and  more  easily  sepa- 
rated than  the  clover  seed.  The  diseases  and  enemies  of  lucern 
appear  also  to  be  the  same  as  those  of  clover. 

The  following  system  has  been  adopted  for  a  few  years  back 
by  the  farmers  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  many  of  the 
eastern  states. 

"No  crop  gives  so  great  a  product  of  forage  during  the  sum- 
mer, and  all  domestic  animals  are  fond  of  and  thrive  upon  it. 
It  is  in  condition  to  cut  from  the  15th  to  20th  of  May,  and 
will  give  three  or  four  cuttings  in  a  season.  An  acre  of  good 
lucern  will  keep  six  cows  well  from  the  first  cutting;  and 
as  soon  as  the  whole  has  been  cut  over  to  supply  this  num- 
ber with  food,  the  earliest  mown  will  be  fit  to  cut  a  second 
time.  I  have  cultivated  lucern  ten  or  a  dozen  years,  and  it  has 
been  almost  my  whole  dependence  for  the  summer  support  of 
my  cows  and  a  yoke  of  oxen.  An  acre  has  been  worth  to  me 
fifty  dollars  a  year.  But  to  insure  a  profitable  crop,  certain 
requisites  are  necessary,  some  of  which  I  will  name. 

"Lucern  must  be  sown  on  a  dry  soil.  The  roots  penetrate 
four  to  six  feet,  and  these  will  neither  grow  nor  live  where 
there  is  water.     Sand,  gravel,  or  loam  are  the  best  soils  for  it. 

"It  should  be  sown  on  a  rich  and  clean  soil.  Without  the  first, 
the  crop  will  be  diminutive;  and  if  weeds  abound,  they  will 
rob  and  choke  the  young  lucern,  which  is  feeble  during  its 
early  growth.  The  best  preparation  for  it  is  a  crop  of  potatoes, 
weli  manured  and  well  cleaned  in  tilling. 

"Sow  sixteen  pounds  to  the  acre  broadcast,  with  half  a  bushel 
of  winter  rye,  early  in  May,  in  ground  well  pulverized,  harrow 

*  See  an  interesting  paper  on  the  Cultivation  of  Lucern,  by  James  Pedder, 
in  Farmer's  Cabinet,  vol.  iii.  page  292. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  221 

in  the  seed,  and  follow  with  the  roller.  Or  the  seed  may  be 
put  in  with  a  drill-barrow  at  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  between 
the  drills,  at  the  rate  of  ten  pounds  the  acre,  and  in  this  case  the 
intervals  should,  be  kept  clean  with  the  hoe  or  otherwise.  The 
duration  of  lucern  is  six  to  ten  years;  though  it  sometimes,  like 
clover,  suffers  from  the  winter.  The  seed  may  be  had  at  the 
seed  shops  in  our  cities  at  twenty-five  to  thirty  cents  per 
pound. 

"To  make  lucern  into  hay,  it  should  lie  in  the  swath  to 
wilt,  and  then  be  put  into  small  grass-cocks  with  a  fork  (not 
rolled)  to  cure.  After  standing  a  day  or  two,  the  cocks  may 
be  opened  two  or  three  hours  under  a  bright  sun,  the  hay 
turned,  and  soon  after  housed.  If  spread  like  ordinary  grass, 
the  leaves  dry  and  crumble  ere  the  haulm  or  stalks  are  cured, 
and  thus  the  best  part  of  the  fodder  is  lost.  I  have  mixed  lu- 
cern, partially  cured,  in  alternate  strata  with  dry  barley  straw 
on  the  mow,  and  found  that  cattle  greedily  consumed  both  in 
winter,  when  fed  out  in  the  yard." 


III.    SAINTFOIN— OR  SAINFOIN. 

Saintfoin,  Onobrychis  sativa,  although  not  much  known 
to  our  agriculture,  is  noticed  in  this  place,  because  it  is  a  plant 
which,  in  many  parts  of  our  country,  may  be  very  profitably 
cultivated;  for  although  this  species  has  an  extensive  range  of 
the  lighter  class  of  soils,  it  is  yet  in  a  peculiar  degree  adapted 
to  the  calcareous.  The  French,  to  whom  we  owe  our  first 
knowledge  of  this  plant,  call  it  Sainfoin — sain,  in  their  lan- 
guage, signifying  wholesome — and/om,  hay,  in  consequence  of 
its  agreeing  so  exceedingly  well  with  all  kinds  of  stock.  The 
Complete  Farmer,  page  20,  says  that  its  cultivation  may  be 
considered  as  out  of  the  question  in  New  England,  as  so  large 
a  portion  of  it  is  winter-killed — this  is  the  only  objection  that 
has  been  urged  against  its  culture  in  the  eastern  and  northern 
states.  But  this  does  not  affect  it  in  other  parts.  Every  far-  - 
mer,  without  risk,  can  try  the  experiment  of  its  cultivation. 

Saintfoin  is  a  perennial  deep-rooted  plant,  with  a  branching- 
stem,  bearing  spikes  of  beautiful  flowers.  It  grows  wonder- 
fully on  rocky  soils,  stretching  its  roots  to  a  prodigious  deptli 
among  the  crevices  and  open  strata.  It  is  in  truth  on  dry  rocky 
soils  that  the  chief  advantages  of  the  cultivation  of  this  plant 
are  seen.  On  a  chalky  rock,  covered  with  only  a  few  inches 
of  soil,  it  will  thrive  and  grow  for  many  years  wdth  vigour, 


222  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

where  neither  grain  nor  the  cultivated  herbage  plants  would 
cover  the  surface. 

It  may  be  sown  with  a  grain  crop  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
clovers  and  grasses.  In  the  following  season  it  may  be  mown 
for  hay  or  green  forage,  although  it  does  not  obtain  its  full 
maturity  until  the  third  year.  When  this  mode  of  sowing  with 
a  grain  crop  is  adopted,  the  saintfoin  should  be  mixed  with  one 
or  more  of  the  clovers,  of  which  the  most  suitable  is  the  white 
clover.  A  quart  or  two  of  the  clover  to  the  acre  will  be  suffi- 
cient. It  may  also  be  cultivated  in  rows,  like  lucern — tilled 
every  summer  by  the  cultivator,  and  manured  at  intervals  of 
four  or  five  years.  But  the  easier  and  more  convenient  prac- 
tice of  broadcast  is  preferred  by  the  European  cultivators.  The 
quantity  of  seed  to  the  acre  when  sown  broadcast  is  four 
bushels;  in  rows,  from  two  to  three  bushels.  When  sown  in 
spring,  the  earlier  it  is  put  in  the  soil  the  better. 

The  after  culture  and  management  of  saintfoin,  consists  in 
occasional  dressings  with  manure,  and  in  the  judicious  inter- 
vention of  mowing  and  pasturing.  In  gathering  and  using 
the  crop  the  same  practices  may  be  followed  as  in  the  taking 
of  clover.  It  may  be  mown  for  either  soiling,  hay,  or  seed; 
and  consumed  on  the  spot  by  tethering,  hurdling,  or  common 
pasturing.  It  does  not  bear  z.?,  frequent  cutting  as  lucern.  It 
may  be  cut  twice  in  the  season  for  soiling;  for  hay,  one  cut- 
ting, and  the  aftermath  depastured.  When  made  into  hay, 
it  should  be  cut  just  when  it  comes  into  flower.  It  is  rarely 
injured  by  heating,  and  may  therefore  be  housed  more  quickly 
than  other  hay  plants.  The  process  of  curing  saintfoin  is  the 
same  as  that  of  the  clover.     See  page  214. 

The  produce  per  acre  varies  according  to  the  quality  of  the 
soil;  from  one  to  two  tons  will  be  about  the  proper  average, 
considering  that  it  is  grown  on  inferior  soils,  and  that  it  yields 
good  aftermath;  it  will  be  found  to  be  a  very  productive  plant. 
The  produce  per  acre  in  seed,  is  subject  to  great  variations, 
from  the  changes  of  season  and  other  causes.  The  diseases  of 
saintfoin  are  few,  there  being,  according  to  Loudon,  little 
danger  of  failure  after  it  has  escaped  the  fly,  which  attacks  the 
clover-seed  in  germinating. 

Saving  of  the  seed  should  be  attended  to.  The  husks  are 
to  remain  in  the  field  until  they  assume  a  brownish  colour,  and 
the  seeds  are  perfectly  firm  and  plump.  Experience  or  great 
observation  is  necessar}-,  to  know  at  what  period  to  cut  for 
seed,  as  the  seeds  do  not  ripen  at  the  same  time.  Some  ears 
blossom  before  others:  they  begin  to  blossom  at  the  lower  part, 
and  continue  to  blow  gradually  upwards  for  many  days,  in 
consequence  of  which,  before  the  flower  is  ofi"  at  the  top,  the 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  223 

seeds  at  the  bottom  are  nearly  matured;  therefore,  if  the  cut- 
ting be  deferred  until  the  top  seeds  are  quite  ripe,  the  lower, 
which  are  the  best,  would  be  shed  and  lost.  The  cultivator 
should  bear  in  mind  that  the  best  time  to  cut  is  when  the 
greater  part  of  the  seed  is  well  filled,  the  first  blown  ripe,  and 
the  last  blown  beginning  to  be  full.  The  unripe  seeds  will 
ripen  after  cutting,  and  be  found  in  all  respects  as  good  as  those 
that  ripened  fully  before  being  cut. 

John  Hare  Powell,  Esq.,  who  has  done  much  to  advance 
the  character  and  interests  of  American  husbandry,  says,  "saint- 
foin  has  been  neglected,  most  probably,  in  consequence  of  the 
failures  proceeding  from  the  age  of  the  seeds;  they  seldom 
vegetate  when  more  than  one  year  old,  and  hence  fail  when 
they  have  reached  us  in  the  common  course  with  dealers' 
supplies.  It  should  be  sown  as  early  as  practicable  in  the 
spring,  with  half  the  usual  quantity  of  barley  or  oats.  The 
quality  of  the  seed  may  be  known  by  the  brightness  of  the 
capsules,  the  fulness  of  the  kernels,  and  by  their  colour,  which 
should  be  blue-grey  or  yellow-red.  As  the  seeds  are  large, 
and  enveloped  in  thick  capsules,  they  must  be  covered  at 
greater  depth,  and  with  more  than  usual  care.  The  roller 
should  be  applied  if  the  soil  and  weather  be  in  proper  state." 
Soaking  the  seed  for  some  hours  before  sowing,  and  then  roll- 
ing in  plaster,  would,  no  doubt,  prove  beneficial,  and  obviate 
the  necessity  of  unusually  deep  sowing. 

%B.mong  the  inferior  herbage  plants  which  are  occasionally 
cultivated  in  England,  and  sometimes  with  us,  by  way  of  ex- 
periment, are  burnet,  ribwort,  furze  and  spurry.  Those  which 
might  be  cultivated  are  very  numerous,  and  include  several 
species.*  Very  few  are  worthy  the  attention  of  the  profes- 
sional farmer. 

Burnet,  Pimprenelle  grande,  Fr. — Poterium  sanguis- 
orba,  L.  Those  who  wish  to  cultivate  burnet,  as  an  herbage 
or  hay-plant,  may  treat  it  exactly  as  directed  for  saiutfoin. 
As  a  pasture-plant  it  is  sown  among  the  grasses  in  the  same 
way  as  white  or  yellow  clover.  A  bushel  of  seed  is  commonly 
sown  to  the  acre.  It  is  of  the  rose  family,  and  grows  naturally 
on  dry  and  calcareous  soils. 

RiB-GRAss,  or  Ribwort  plantain.  Plantain  des  Pres, 
Fr. — Planiago  lanceolata,  is  a  hardy  plant,  with  a  tuft  of 
long  ribbed  leaves  springing  from  the  crown  of  the  root,  long, 
naked  flower-stems,  and  a  long  tap-root.  Arthur  Young  re- 
commends this  plant  for  laying  land  to  grass,  and  has  sown  it 
on  his  own  farm.     The  culture  is  the  same  as  that  of  clover. 

♦  Encyclopaedia  of  Agriculture. 


224  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

Its  seed  is  about  the  same  size,  and  consequently  the  same  pro- 
portion will  sow  an  acre.  On  rich  sands  and  loams,  it  produced 
considerable  herbage.  On  poorer  and  dryer  soils,  it  is  said  to 
answer  well  for  sheep,  though  its  advocates  admit  that  it  is  in- 
ferior to  some  others.*  According  to  Mr.  Marshall,  it  is  in 
high  estimation  in  Yorkshire,  after  having  stood  the  test  of 
twenty  years'  established  practice.  Linn^us  remarks,  that 
"it  is  eaten  by  sheep,  horses  and  goats,  and  wholly  refused  by 
cows:  yet  we  find  the  late  eminent  Baron  Haller,  attributing 
the  astonishing  richness  of  the  milk  in  the  celebrated  dairies 
of  the  Alps  to  this  plant,  and  the  common  lady  mantle,  {Jil- 
chemilla  vulgaris.)  Dr.  Withering  says  cattle  will  not 
touch  it  when  growing  apart  from  other  plants.  It  is  not, 
therefore,  surprising,  that  it  has  of  late  years  fallen  into  disre- 
pute.    It  produces  an  abundance  of  seed. 

SpuRRY,  Spergula  arvensis.  This  plant  is  cultivated  in 
some  countries  for  herbage.  It  is  of  the  pink  tribe  of  plants, 
and  is  a  native  of  the  old  and  new  continents,  growing  about 
Quebec  and  the  river  Columbia,  and  plentifully  in  the  gardens 
and  fields  throughout  Europe.  It  is  valued  for  its  rapid  growth : 
sown  on  the  stubble  in  autumn,  it  will  produce  a  crop  in  the 
same  season.  It  is,  however,  regarded  as  a  weed,  and  value- 
less, and  of  course  without  a  place  in  our  system  of  agricul- 
ture. 

Whin,  Furze  or  Gorse.  This  is  a  shrubby  plant,  of  which 
the  soft  shoots  are  cropped  by  animals;  but  it  does  not  form 
the  subject  of  cultivation  in  this  country.  It  requires  dry 
loamy  land,  well  prepared,  and  like  clover  is  sown  in  the 
spring,  with  wheat,  barley  or  oats,  at  the  rate  of  thirty  pounds 
to  the  acre,  harrowed  and  rolled  in.  Let  them  grow  for  two 
years,  and  then  cut  them  by  means  of  a  hedge-bill. 

Common  Broom,  Genet  commun,  cultivated  in  the  southern 
parts  of  France,  in  the  same  manner  as  hemp  is  cultivated.  It 
does  well  on  the  poorer  soils.  It  is  sometimes  raised  for  the 
feeding  of  sheep,  but  more  frequently  for  the  purpose  of  strip- 
ping the  bark  from  it,  and  converting  it  into  a  kind  of  thread. 
It  has  little  or  no  pretensions  to  the  character  of  an  herbage 
plant. 

The  Parsley,  Persil  commun,  a  well  known  biennial 
plant,  with  a  large  sweet  tap-root,  is  a  native  of  Sicily,  but 
endures  the  severity  of  more  northern  latitudes  like  a  native 
plant.  It  is  cultivated  in  all  our  gardens.  Its  chief  virtue 
consists  in  preventing  the  rot  in  sheep,  for  which  purpose  it  is 
frequently   sown    along  with    clover   and    grass   seeds.     Mr. 

*  Complete  Grazier,  p.  493,  Gth  ed. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  225 

Fleet,  an  English  farmer,  says  that  he  cultivates  it  largely 
with  success.  He  sows  half  a  Bushel  to  the  acre,  with  a  bushel 
of  rye  grass,  with  spring  grain,  and  he  finds  that  it  lasts  in  the 
ground  until  it  is  permitted  to  seed.  He  feeds  it  constantly — 
it  being  excellent  for  sheep — and,  when  suffered  to  get  ahead, 
wonderfully  fed  upon  by  pigs  in  the  autumn.  The  seed  must 
be  fresh,  not  more  than  two  years  standing.  It  requires  a 
longer  period  to  germinate  than  the  seed  of  any  other  agricul- 
tural plant. 


GRASSES. 

The  most  important  of  the  herbage  plants  of  all  countries, 
are  the  grasses,  which  are  found  clothing  the  surface  of  the 
earth  in  every  zone,  "attaining  generally  a  greater  height,  with 
less  closeness  at  the  root  in  the  warm  climates,  and  producing 
a  low,  close,  thick,  dark  green  nutritive  herbage  in  the  cooler 
latitudes."  Many  of  the  grasses,  however,  are  of  low  nutri- 
tive and  productive  powers,  and  in  cultivated  grounds  are  held 
to  be  weeds;  but  some  of  the  less  valuable  require  attention  on 
account  of  their  frequent  occurrence,  and  their  peculiar  adapta- 
tion to  soils  low  in  the  scale  of  fertility. 

With  respect  to  the  general  culture  of  grasses,  though  no  department  of  agri- 
culture is  more  simple  in  its  execution,  yet  from  Itheir  nature  considerable 
judgment  is  required  in  the  design.  The  creeping-rooted  grasses  will  grow- 
readily  on  moist  soils;  but  the  fibrous  rooted  species,  and  especially  the  more 
delicate  upland  grasses,  require  particular  attention  as  to  the  soil  in  which 
they  are  sown;  for  in  many  soils  they  will  either  not  come  up  at  all,  or  die 
away  in  a  few  3^ears.  Hence,  in  sowing  down  lands  to  permanent  pasture,  it 
is  a  good  method  to  make  choice  of  those  grasses  which  thrive  best  in  adjoin- 
ing and  similarly  circumstanced  pastures,  for  a  part  of  the  seed,  and  to  mix 
with  these  what  are  considered  the  very  best  kinds.— Loudon,  p.  887. 

A  very  judicious  writer  remarks,  that  it  is  a  bad  system  to  mix  seeds  of  dif- 
ferent plants  before  sowing  them,  in  order  to  have  fewer  casts.  It  is  better  to 
sow  each  sort  separately,  as  the  trouble  of  going  several  times  over  the  ground 
is  nothing  compared  to  the  benefit  of  having  each  sort  equally  distributed. 
Grass-seeds  cannot  well  be  sown  too  plentifully,  and  no  ecomomy  less  deserv- 
ing the  name  can  possibly  exist,  than  the  being  sparing  of  grass  seeds.  The 
seedsof  grain  may  easily  be  sown  too  thickly,  but  with  respect  to  those  of 
grass,  it  is  scarcely  capable  of  occurring.  The  smaller  the  stem,  the  more  ac- 
ceptable it  is  to  cattle;  and  when  the  seeds  of  .some  grasses  are  thinly  scatter- 
ed, their  stems  tend,  as  it  is  called,  to  wood,  and  the  crop  is  liable  to  be  infested 
with  weeds.  Some  think  that  if  ground  is  well  manured,  good  grasses  will 
come  in  of  themselves.  Perhaps  so;  but  how  long  will  it  be  before  that  hap- 
pensl 

Clean  seed,  and  that  which  is  known  to  be  suitable  to  the  soil,  should  always 
be  sown.  For  though  grasses  will  gradually  come  in,  no  great  crop  is  to  be 
expected  the  first  year,  unless  it  be  a  crop  of  rank  and  useless  weeds.  And 
he  that  misses  the  first  year's  crop,  loses  much,  as  the  lonsrer  the  land  lies,  the 
more  compact  or  bound  it  will  become,  and  produce  the  smaller  crops.  Every 
farmer  should  carefully  examine  his  fields  that  are  coming  into  grass  for  next 


226  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

summers  mowing,  and  carefully  note  all  the  bald  spots,  where,  by  the  lotlging 
of  grain  or  from  any  other  cause,  the  grass  roots  have  either  not  taken  or  been 
destroyed.  On  all  such  spots  grass-seeds  should  be  applied  at  as  early  a  period 
in  the  spring  as  possible.  Failures  of  this  sort  generallj'  are  found  where  the 
soil  is  strongest,  and  if  grass-seed  is  not  resown,  there  will  be  an  abundant 
.supply  of  weeds  to  annoy  the  careless  farmer. — Farmer^s  Cabinet,  vol.  iii. 
p.  153. 

New  and  excellent  varieties  of  many  of  the  grasses,  espe- 
cially those  used  or  fit  to  be  used  in  the  convertible  husbandry, 
might,  no  doubt,  be  obtained  by  selection  and  cross-breeding, 
and  it  is  much  to  be  wished  that  this  were  attempted  by  culti- 
vators. 

1.  Sweet  Scented  Vernal  Grass. 

This  is  one  of  the  earliest  grasses  of  the  spring,  coming  into 
flower  about  the  middle  of  April,  and  ripening  its  seeds  by  the 
middle  of  June.  It  contributes  mainly  to  give  that  delightful 
fragrance  to  new  mown  hay,  so  familiar  to  us.  It  grows  on 
almost  every  soil.  It  is  not  of  itself  remarkable  for  its  nutri- 
tive qualities,  nor  is  it  grateful  to  cattle;  although  eaten  by 
them  along  with  other  herbage.  Its  value  is  chiefly  derived 
from  its  early  growth,  its  hardiness,  and  its  continuing  very 
late  in  autumn  to  show  forth  its  flowering  stems.  We  enter- 
tain the  opinion  expressed  by  a  writer  in  the  American  Farmer, 
that  it  can  scarcely  form  the  subject,  in  any  case,  of  useful  cul- 
tivation. Introduced  from  Europe  and  extensively  naturalized, 
being  the  only  species  of  the  genus  which  has  found  its  way  to 
the  United  States.* 

2.  Meadow  Foxtail. 

This  is  a  very  generally  difiused  species,  of  e^irly  growth; 
hardy,  herbage  nutritive,  and  apparently  grateful  to  ruminating 
animals;  sheep  and  horses  have  a  greater  relish  for  it  however 
than  oxen.  It  is  perennial,  and  in  England  constitutes  a  con- 
siderable part  of  their  richest  meadows,  and  is  one  of  the  six 
kinds  of  the  best  British  grasses  for  either  dry  or  watered  mea- 
dows. When  the  soil  is  neither  very  moist  nor  very  dry,  but 
in  good  heart,  this  grass  is  found  to  be  very  productive,  con- 
tinuing till  late  in  autumn  to  throw  forth  its  flowering  stems. 
LixN3:us  recommends  it  as  a  suitable  grass  for  grounds  which 
have  been  drained;  and  Mr.  Curtis  states,  that  it  may  be 
mowed  three  times  in  a  year. 

*  Flora  Cestrica.  by  Dr.  W.  Darlington,  page  64. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  227 


3.  Orchard  Grass  or  Rough  Cock's-foot. 

This  is  a  native  plant,  coarse,  but  very  nutritive,  of  early 
and  rapid  growth.  In  England,  where  it  was  introduced  from 
Virginia  in  the  year  1780,  it  is  generally  sown  with  clovers. 
It  is  justly  held  to  be  one  of  the  superior  pasture  grasses,  and 
is  suited  for  forage  as  well  as  for  herbage.  It  requires  to  be 
closely  cropped.  It  grows  well  on  loamy  and  sandy  soils,  and 
is  not  much  injured  in  its  growth  by  shade.  Loraine  says, 
"it  is  very  valuable.  When  cut  by  the  scythe  it  neither  waits 
for  fresh  shoots  from  its  roots,  nor  until  its  wounds  be  healed, 
but  continues  growing  on  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  The 
leaves  which  have  been  cut,  will  grow  on  a  rich  soil,  nearly,  if 
not  quite,  one  inch  in  twenty-four  hours,  forming  new  points 
gradually  as  they  increase  in  length." 

This  (orchard)  grass  is  worthy  of  being  cultivated  on  account  of  its  uncom- 
mon luxuriance.  Horses,  cows,  and  sheep  eat  it  readily,  and  it  is  valuable  on 
account  of  its  excellent  after-feed.  It  affords  an  abundant  crop,  springs  early, 
and  grows  fast,  makes  excellent  hay,  and  yields  abundance  of  seed,  which  is 
not  easily  shaken  out.  It  is  a  hardy  "grass,  found  highly  useful  in  moist  loamy 
soils,  and  thriving  under  the  shade  of  trees.  It  comes  early,  is  soon  mature, 
and  continues  green  until  late  in  the  season,  as  clover  does.  If  intended  for 
Ibdder,  it  should  be  cut  while  young  and  tender. 

The  quantity  of  seed  to  the  acre  is  usually  one  bushel.  John 
Hare  Powell,  Esq.,  who  was  many  years  since  a  successful 
cultivator,  i-ecommends  two  bushels  to  the  acre.  Lloyd  Jones, 
Esq.,  in  a  communication  read  before  the  "Pennsylvania  Agri- 
cultural Society,"  states,  that  he  has  cultivated  orchard  grass 
for  twenty-five  years,  and  he  considers  it  as  the  best  herbage 
for  pasturage  upon  upland — for  hay  it  certainly  cannot  be  ex- 
celled. When  his  crops  failed,  it  was  owing  to  the  bad  quality 
of  the  seed;  of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  he  never  lost  a 
crop  after  he  raised  and  secured  his  own  seed.  His  method  of 
saving  the  seed  is  this: 

When  in  a  state  in  which  they  can  be  shaken  from  the  heads,  the  stems  are 
cut  by  a  skilful  cradler  just  above  the  tops  of  the  under  grass.  After  some 
practice,  he  is  enabled  to  catch  with  the  left  hand,  the  portion  taken  with  the 
cradle,  and  to  place  them  regularly  as  he  advances.  They  are  immediately 
bound  in  sheaves  about  as  large  as  a  man's  leg.  Double  swarths  are  after- 
wards mown  with  a  naked  scythe  to  remove  the  under  grass,  and  leave,  at 
proper  distances  throughout  the  field,  openings  upon  which  the  sheaves  are 
shocked;  in  which  state  they  remain  from  eight  to  ten  days,  until  sufficiently 
dry  tobe  carried  to  thebarn,  where  they  are  forthwith  threshed  to  guard  against 
beating,  the  great  source  of  injury  to  this  valuable  crop.  The  usual  manner  of 
securing  thein  by  putting  the  sheaves  into  the  mow,  is,  I  am  satisfied,  the  most 
efiectual  mode  to  destroy  ihe  principle  of  vegetation,  as  they  can  rarely  be  so 
treated  without  being  mow-burned.  After  having  been  threshed,  they  should 
he  strewed  upon  the  barn  floor — occasionally  stirred  if  the  quantity  be  large, 
during  eight  or  ten  days,  until  they  are  perfectly  dry— without  this  precaution 
they  would  inevitably  be  heated. 


228  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

The  under  grass  should  all  be  mown  for  hay  as  soon  as  possible,  after  the 
seeds  have  been  harvested.  If  it  be  allowed  to  stand  but  a  few  days,  it  loses 
its  nutritive  properties — in  fact  dies,  after  having  lost  the  heads.  The  hay 
thus  made,  and  properly  secured,  although  necessarily  harsh  from  having  been 
allowed  to  pass  the  stage  of  its  growth  when  most  succulent  and  nutritious,  I 
have  found  good  fodder  for  both  horses  and  neat  cattle. 

The  product  of  seeds  varies  from  ten  to  twenty  bushels  per  acre.  I  have  had 
in  a  very  favourable  season  twenty  bushels  upon  land  which  would  not  have 
afforded',  I  think,  ten  of  wheat.  The  product  of  this,  as  of  all  crops,  depends 
much,  of  course,  upon  the  season  and  the  preparation  of  the  land.  The  crop 
to  which  I  advert  was  purposely  grown  upon  a  poor  soil,  to  show  the  excellence 
of  the  plant,  and  the  fallacy  of  the  assertion,  that  it  required  very  rich  land. 

I  sow  from  eight  to  ten  quarts  of  clover  seeds,  and  a  bushel  of  orchard  grass 
seeds  per  acre  in  February,  upon  wheat  or  rye  land.  I  should  prefer  their 
being  sown  with  oats  or  barley,  as  the  seeds  could  be  covered  more  regularly 
with  the  harrow,  and  their  vegetation  would  he  secured.  I  do  not  apprehend 
injury  from  frost  in  early  sowing,  but  I  dread  the  effects  of  drought  from  late. 
I  have  never  suffered  from  early,  but  have  generally  had  cause  to  regret  the 
evils  of  late  sowing. 

4.    Timothy. 

Timothy  is  a  well  known  favourite  and  native  grass  of  the 
middle  and  northern  states;  it  also  flourishes  well  in  the  Caro- 
linas,  whence  it  was  introduced  into  England  by  Timothy 
Hudson,  about  the  year  I7S0.  It  is  known  in  English  practice 
as  the  meadow  caVs-tail  or  timothy  g7-ciss.  In  New  England 
it  is  called  hercPs  grass;  while  in  other  sections  of  the  United 
States  it  is  known  as  the  herd's  of  the  north,  or  red-top  timo- 
thy. *t  It  succeeds  best  in  strong  and  moist  soils,  and  does  well 
in  low  grounds,  greatly  improving  moist  meadows  overgrown 
with  moss.  On  moist  and  rich  soils  it  is  very  prolific.  There  is 
none  of  the  grasses  more  easily  cultivated,  and  what  is  of  great 
importance  is,  that  when  cut  in  the  seed  it  affords  more  than 
double  what  it  does  when  cut  in  the  flower.  Of  its  very  su- 
perior value,  no  doubt  is  entertained. 

The  hest  way  of  sowing  it  on  low  moist  grounds,  is  imme- 
diately after  they  have  been  cleared  and  drained;  on  uplands, 
it  is  best  sown  with  red  clover,  as  the  mixture  not  only  makes 
hay  of  an  improved  kind,  but  the  timothy,  from  its  long,  firm, 
upright  stalk,  will  support  the  clover  should  it  be  inclined  to 
fall  or  lodge.  It  is  not  to  be  mixed  with  clover  in  laying  down 
meadows.     The  "Farmer's  Assistant"  says,  that  it  fails  in  rich 

*  Dr.  Darlington,  in  his  "Flora  Cestrica,"  says,  "this  grass  in  a  naiive  of 
Europe,  but  extensively  naturalized  in  this  country — generally  cultivated  in 
Chester  county — and  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  valuable  grasses  known 
to  our  farmers.  Mixed  with  red  clover,  it  makes  the  best  quality  of  hay.  It 
requires  a  good  soil,  and  is  considered  as  an  exhausting  crop.  The  seed  is 
usually  sown  in  autumn,  among,  and  immediately  after,  wheat  and  rye.  It 
succeeds  well  when  sown  in  spring.'"' 

t  Profe.ssor  Low  and  Mr.  Loudon,  both  state  that  it  is  a  native  of  Britain, 
hut  that  it  was  first  introduced  into  notice  from  Carolina,  and  we  believe  that 
Judge  BuEL  in  his  tables  claims  it  as  a  native  plant. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  229 

arable  soils  in  consequence  of  the  sward  becoming  bound  and 
thickened  with  other  grasses;  that,  if  not  too  closely  pastured 
in  the  fall,  harrowed  every  spring,  and  stock  not  permitted  to 
enter  upon  it  for  a  suitable  time,  it  will  last  many  years;  and 
that  in  the  rich  and  kindly  soils,  unless  destroyed  by  close  pas- 
turing, it  will  last  beyond  the  memory  of  man. 

The  produce  on  good  soils,  when  not  pastured,  is  four  tons 
to  the  acre — frequently  more,  at  two  cuttings.  When  not  pas- 
tured it  yields  nearly  double  the  quantity  of  hay.  The  pro- 
duce per  acre  in  seed  varies  greatly — from  ten  to  thirty-four 
bushels;  the  saving  of  the  seed  does  not  essentially  diminish 
the  yield  of  hay,  and  as  it  is  easily  gathered,  separated  and  pre- 
pared for  market,  is  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  to  the 
farmer,  especially  as  the  seed  has  always  a  ready  market,  and 
produces  a  fair  price.  Timothy  should  not  be  cut  until  it  is  in 
blossom,  or  a  little  later. 

5.    Tall  (Meadoiv)  Oat  Grass. 

Tall  meadow  oat  grass,  sometimes  called  the  ^^Egyptian 
oat,^^  and  the  ^'■Peruvian  grass,''  vegetates  with  uncommon 
luxuriance;  flowers  in  England  in  June  and  July,  and  though 
coarse,  is  very  profitable  when  closely  fed  down.  It  makes  but 
an  indifferent  hay,  but  what  is  of  great  importance  to  the  Ame- 
rican farmer  is,  that  it  produces  a  very  plentiful  aftermath.  It 
is  the  fViesenhafcr  franzosisch  ray-grass  of  the  Germans.  Mr. 
SwAYNE  asserts  that  it  yields  a  greater  weight  than  any  other 
description  of  grass;  but  according  to  Sir  H.  Davy,  although 
very  productive,  it  is  disliked  by  cattle,  especially  by  horses; 
which,  he  says,  perfectly  agrees  with  the  small  portion  of  nu- 
tritive matter  it  contains.  John  Tavlor,  Esq.,  of  Caroline, 
President  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Virginia,  and  Dr.  H. 
MuHLENBURGH,  of  Lancaster,  Penn.,  speak  of  this  grass  in  the 
highest  terms  of  commendation,  recommending  it  with  great 
earnestness  to  the  attention  of  the  American  farmer.  The  last 
named  gentleman  says: 

I  have  cultivated  this  prrass  for  a  number  of  years,  and  find  it,  after  a  great 
many  trials  of  pretty  near  all  other  grasses,  the  earliest,  latest  and  best  grass 
lor  green  fodder  and  hay.  It  blossoms  in  tlie  middle  of  May,  the  same  time 
with  the  common  red  clover,  and  the  seed  ripens  a  month  later.  Horses,  it  is 
true,  do  not  like  it  green,  at  least  not  all  of  them,  but  eat  it  in  hay.  Horned 
rattle  prefer  it  to  all  other  grasses.  It  will  grow  best  in  clover  soil,  and  the  leaves 
are  from  two  to  four  feet  high  before  it  blossoms.  In  the  blossom  the  stalk  rises 
from  five  to  seven  feet.  It  ought  to  be  cut  in  blossom  about  the  end  of  jMay, 
[from  the  middle  of  June  to  the  5th  of  July  in  New  York  and  the  eastern 
states,]  and  will  yield  an  abundance  of  sweet  good  hay.  The  seed  may  be 
.sown  in  the  fall  or  spring,  with  or  without  grain,  and  must  be  brushed  in  or 
20 


230  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

lightl}'  harrowed.    If  mixed  with  clover  it  will  make  uncommon  good  upland 
meadow. 

6.    Yellow  Oat  Grass. 

The  yellow  oat  grass,  Jlvtna  flavescens,  thrives  in  meadows 
and  pastures,  and  on  hills,  in  calcareous  soils,  where  it  flowers 
in  June  or  July.  Though  sweet,  it  is  an  inferior  grass.  The 
late  Dr.  Withering  has  asserted  that  it  is  less  relished  by 
cattle  than  the  poa  and  fescue  grasses;  though  Mr.  Swatne 
thinks  it  one  of  the  best  grasses  for  cattle.*  Mr.  Curtis  says 
it  promises  to  make  good  sheep  pastures.!  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy  confirms  this  opinion,  and  says  that  it  nearly  doubles 
the  quantity  of  its  produce  by  the  application  of  calcareous 
manure. 

7.  Rye  Grass. 

The  Perennial  darnel^  or  rye  grass,  is  regarded  in  the 
north  of  England,  and  in  Scotland,  as  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  gramineous  herbage  plants.  According  to  Low, 
it  is  more  generally  cultivated  in  Europe  than  either  of  the 
other  herbage  plants.  This  is  owing  to  its  early  maturity,  its 
wide  range  of  temperature  and  soils,  and  to  the  abundance  and 
facility  with  which  it  is  raised  from  the  seed.  However  valu- 
able the  rye  grass  from  these  qualities,  it  wants  certain  proper- 
ties which  others  of  the  grasses  possess,  and  a  good  permanent 
meadow,  therefore,  will  best  be  procured  by  imitating  the 
natural  process  of  mixing  grasses  together.  In  this  manner,  the 
different  kinds  coming  into  flower  at  different  periods  of  the 
year,  will  better  afford  a  succession  of  herbage  throughout  the 
season.  There  are  many  more  great  advantages  arising  from 
a  judicious  mixture  of  grass  seeds,  and  sowing  the  same  bounti- 
fully, which  will  be  noticed  hereafter. 

The  characters  of  this  plant  are  greatly  modified  by  the 
effects  of  climate,  soil  and  culture;  and  it  may  be  owing  to  one, 
or  perhaps  to  all  these  circumstances  combined,  with  a  slight 
admixture  oi prejudice,  that  it  has  fallen  into  disrepute  among 
our  farmers.  This  grass  has  been  too  much  neglected,  and  we 
entertain  no  doubt,  that  with  proper  attention,  it  may  be  made 
to  enter  far  more  prominently  into  our  system  of  agriculture 
than  it  has  heretofore,  and  with  decided  profit.  Perhaps  one 
reason  why  it  has  been  almost  wholly  neglected  is,  that  it  has 
lacked  the  sanction  of  great  names.     This  is  wrong.     Every 

♦  Gramina  Pascua.  t  Curtis  on  Grasses,  p.  18. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  231 

farmer  should,  in  the  first  place,  understand  perfectly  the  na- 
ture and  properties  of  the  soil  he  cultivates,  the  crops  best 
adapted  to  that  soil,  which  is  easily  determined;  and  then,  by 
adopting  a  judicious  rotation,  cultivate  such  as  may  be  most 
advantageous. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  rye  grass,  however,  which  must  be  distinguished 
from  each  other  in  practice.  The  one  flowers  for  successive  years,  and  is  there- 
fore termed  perennial — the  other  flowers  in  the  second  year,  and  having  borne 
its  flowers,  the  root  decays.  This  is,  therefore,  a  biennial  plant,  but  it  is  gene- 
rally termed  annual  rye  grass.  It  is  more  productive  than  the  perennial  kind 
in  the  season  after  being'sown;  and  hence,  when  the  object  is  to  retain  the  land 
only  one  year  for  a  crop  of  herbage  or  forage,  the  shorter-lived  variety  is  to  be 
preferred.  There  are  no  means  of  distinguishing  the  two  kinds  from  their 
seeds  alone,  and  great  losses  have  been  frequently  sustained  by  mistaking  the 
one  for  the  other,  when  the  purpose  has  been  to  keep  the  land  for  several  years 
in  grass.  When  the  land  is  to  remain  more  than  one  year  in  grass,  the  peren- 
nial kind  must  be  sown.  In  England,  rye  grass  is  always  sowed  with  the 
clovers.     Mixed  with  red  clover  it  is  well  suited  for  hay. 

G.  Sinclair,  of  Woburn,  who  prepared  the  Table  of  Grasses  experimented  on 
under  the  direction  and  at  the  expense  of  that  noble  patron  of  agricultural  im- 
provement, the  Duke  of  Bedford,  says  that  the  circumstance  of  its  producing 
abundance  of  seed,  which  is  easily  collected — that  it  vegetates  freely  on  any 
soil— its  early  perfection  and  abundant  herbage  the  first  year,  which  is  much 
relished  by  cattle,  are  the  merits  which  have  upheld  it  to  the  present  day,  and 
will  for  some  time  to  come  continue  it  a  favourite  grass  among  farmers.  In 
his  ."^econd  edition  of  his  Hort.  Gram.  Wob.,  p.  215,  he  remarks,  that  several 
new  varieties  of  this  species  of  grass,  which  have  been  discovered  of  late  years, 
remove,  in  a  very  considerable  degree,  the  serious  objections  applied  to  the 
common  rye  grass.  They  are  as  follows: — Slender  rye  grass,  common  in  dry 
impoverished  pasture  land.  Compound  or  broad-spiked  rye  grass,  found  in  rich 
soils;  a  long  under  grass.  Pacey's  rye  grass,  found  in  rich  meadow  lands,  by 
a  gentleman  named  Pacev.  Witworth's  rye  grass,  introduced  by  G.  Witworth, 
Esq.,  an  eminent  cultivator  of  pasture  grasses,  who  in  1825,  had  sixty  varie- 
ties of  grasses  under  experiment,  at  his  place  in  Lincolnshire,  (Eng.)  Siick- 
ney^s  rye  grass,  introduced  by  a  Mr.  Sticknev.  BusseWs  rye  grass,  first  culti- 
vated by  the  editor  of  the  Farmer's  Journal.  Church  bennet,  or  church  bent 
grass,  an  excellent  variety  of  the  rye  grass.  All  save  the  first  two  are  excel- 
lent varieties.     Pacey's  and  Russell's  are  said  to  be  the  best. 

It  prefers  a  rich  loamy  soil,  but  will  grow  in  almost  any  kind  except  rock  or 
imdecayed  bog.  When  cultivated  for  seed,  it  should  not  be  mixed  with  clover, 
but  may  be  sown  with  grain  crops,  and  the  year  after  treated  like  grain  in 
every  respect,  bound  up  in  sheaves,  stacked,  threshed  with  the  flail,  and  dress- 
ed by  the  winnowing  machine  in  the  same  manner.  To  obtain  good  seed,  it 
must  remain  uncut  beyond  the  proper  season,  to  give  the  seeds  an  opportunity 
of  becoming  perfectly  ripe,  by  which  means  the  value  of  the  grass  for  hay  is 
greatly  diminished. 

This  foreign  grass  is  found  in  several  neighbourhoods;  is  not  extensively 
diff"used,  and  I  believe  has  not  been  cultivated  here,  though  somewhat  prized 
in  Europe.  It  aflfords  a  tolerably  good  pasture,  and  makes  a  handsome  sward 
for  yards  and  lawns;  but  it  is  doubtless  inferior  in  value,  both  to  timothy  and 
orchard  grass.  One  other  species  has  been  naturalized  in  some  parts  of  the 
United  States. — Dr.  Darlington's  Flora  Ceslrica  of  Chester  county.  Pa. 

8.  II  a  Han  Rye  Grass. 

The  Italian  rye  grass.  Solium  italicum^  Trifolium  incar- 
natu7?i,  is  cultivated  in  Italy,  France,  and  other  parts  of  Eu- 
rope. It  reproduces  itself  freely  from  its  seeds,  which  are 
scattered,    generally,    immediately   on   their  becoming  ripe; 


232  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

grows  with  greater  luxuriance  than  the  common  rye  grass,  and 
its  nutritive  properties  may  be  inferred  from  the  eagerness 
with  which  it  is  eaten  by  animals.  It  is  probably  in  most  cases 
of  biennial  duration;  but  by  being  cropped  or  mown,  before 
flowering,  it  may  remain  several  years  in  the  ground.  It  ap- 
pears to  be  a  very  valuable  herbage  plant;  but  farther  experi- 
ments are  yet  required  in  the  United  States,  to  show  how  far 
its  permanence  in  the  ground  can  be  depended  on. 

In  a  late  number  of  the  British  Farmer's  Magazine,  the  editor  says: — The 
trial  of  this  article  for  four  seasons  proves  it  far  superior  to  every  other  grass 
for  winter  herbage,  and  much  the  earliest  for  feed  of  any  grass  in  the  spring; 
but  what  renders  it  still  more  valuable  as  a  feeding  grass  is,  that  it  is  preferred 
by  cattle  to  any  of  the  common  sorts — a  fact  which  has  been  proved  by  nume- 
rous experiments  in  various  parts  of  the  country;  and  the  rapidity  with  which 
it  again  shoots  forth  after  having  been  either  mown  or  fed  off,  renders  it  par- 
ticularly advantageous  for  light  soils,  as  the  common  r)'e  grass  never  sends 
forth  a  second  crop,  either  for  feed  or  seed,  of  any  consequence.  In  poor  land 
it  may  be  safely  sown  with  clover  (as  it  has  been  with  success  in  France)  to 
the  great  increase  of  the  crop  and  benefit  of  the  quality  of  the  hay.  These 
results  fully  show  it  to  be  well  deserving  the  attention  of  agriculturists,  pos- 
sessing as  it  does,  greater  hardness,  and  uniting  in  itself  all  the  good  qualities 
sought  for  in  rye  grass. 

It  is  a  subject  of  astonishment  that  this  valuable  plant,  {Trifolium  incarnu- 
tvm)  should  not  have  been  long  ago  introduced  into  this  country,  and  culti- 
vated on  an  extensive  scale.  If  sown  in  autumn,  after  a  crop  of  potatoes  or 
other  roots,  it  produces  next  spring  a  crop  fit  to  be  cut  for  soiling  cattle,  eight 
days  earlier  than  lucern,  and  a  fortnight  before  red  clover.  Care,  however, 
must  be  taken  to  have  good  seed,  and  not  to  sow  it  too  deep.  It  produces  two 
excellent  crops  in  one  year,  the  first  of  which  should  be  cut  as  soon  as  it  comes 
into  flower,  and  the  second  will  produce  a  considerable  quantity  of  seed. 
Froni  its  early  growth  in  spring,  when  other  articles  for  feeding  stock  with 
advantage  are  so  difficult  to  be  obtained,  it  is  likely  to  become  a  valuable  ac- 
quisition to  British  husbandry. — Sir  John  Sinclair's  Code  of  Agriculture. 

9.  Fiorin  or  Bent  Grass. 

The  fiorin  or  hent  grass,  sometimes  called  creeping  hent 
grass,  affords  a  wholesome  food  to  cattle — is  a  very  common 
grass  in  England,  and  many  parts  of  Europe.  It  flourishes 
astonishingly  in  Ireland.  It  will  grow  both  in  wet  and  dry, 
rich  and  poor  situations,  frequently  vegetating  with  such  luxu- 
riance, as  to  suppress  the  growth  of  moss  and  other  weeds.  ^ 
On  rich  marl  soils,  and  in  moist  soils,  if  we  may  rely  on  the  " 
accounts  given  of  its  produce  in  Great  Britain,  it  is  the  most 
valuable  of  all  herbage  plants.  It  was  first  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  English  farmer  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richardson, 
in  1S09.     The  peculiar  qualities  of  this  grass  are  said  to  be — 

1.  It  grows  luxuriantly  in  low  and  swampy  grounds,  which, 
but  for  its  cultivation,  would  be  of  very  little  or  no  value.* 

2.  It  is  far  more  prolific  than  any  other  grass.     3.  Horses,  ^ 

*  Should  not  the  swampy  land  be  first  drained?  If  so,  would  it  not  produce 
other  grasses'? 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  233 

sheep,  and  cattle  are  extremely  fond  of  it,  and  actually  prefer 
florin  hay  to  any  other  hay  whatever. 

The  "Complete  Grazier"  says  that  "florin  may  be  laid 
down  in  the  months  of  September,  October,  and  November. 
The  land  should  be  laid  completely  dry,  and  if  the  soil  to  be 
lain  down  be  a  ley,  it  should  be  summer  fallowed,  and  all 
stones,  roots  of  weeds,  and  other  rubbish,  carefully  gathered 
and  removed."  When  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  well  pul- 
verized, it  is  generally  laid  into  ridges;  small  drills,  an  inch 
or  two  deep,  and  six  or  nine  inches  asunder,  are  to  be  drawn 
along  its  surface,  with  a  hand  or  horse-hoe,  or  on  soft  lands 
with  the  hoe-rake.  In  the  bottom  of  these  drills,  the  florin 
shoots,  either  long  or  short,  are  laid  lengthways,  so  that  their 
ends  may  reach  each  other;  then  lightly  covered  with  a  rake, 
and  rolled,  to  render  it  fit  for  the  scythe.  In  six  months  the 
whole  surface  will  be  covered  with  verdure.  It  may  be  also 
raised  from  the  seed.  When  it  takes  possession  of  wet  clayey 
soils,  its  roots  penetrate  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  from  their 
vivacious  properties,  it  is  very  difficult  to  extirpate  them. 

The  ''Farmer's  Assistant"  says  it  is  a  native  of  this  coun- 
try, and  states  on  the  authority  of  a  Mr.  Green,  that  it  was 
growing  twenty  years  since,  in  great  profusion,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Albany.  The  late  Judge  Peters,  the  enlighten- 
ed and  able  advocate  of  agricultural  improvement,  introduced 
it  in  Philadelphia  county  in  the  year  1812,  by  importing  a 
quantity  of  the  strings  from  Ireland.  But  for  some  reason  its 
cultivation  was  not  persevered  in;  and,  at  present,  we  believe, 
it  is  almost  wholly  unknown  to  American  practice.  It  is  not 
a  grass  to  be  connected  with  alternate  husbandry,  for  after  it 
has  obtained  a  footing  in  a  suitable  soil  it  is  scarcely  to  be 
eradicated. 

10.  Smooth  Stalked  Meadow  Grass, 

Is  a  native  plant,  and  better  adapted  to  laying  down  perma- 
nent pastures  and  meadows  than  any  other  grass,  with  the  ex- 
ception perhaps  of  rye  grass.  According  to  Scole,  an  emi- 
nent farmer,  it  is  the  best  of  all  the  grasses;  its  foliage  begins 
to  shoot  and  put  on  a  fine  verdure  early  in  the  spring,  but  not 
so  soon  as  some  other  grasses.  Every  animal  that  eats  grass 
is  fond  of  it,  while  at  the  same  time  it  makes  the  best  of 
hay,  and  affords  the  richest  of  pastures.  It  delights  in  rather 
a  dry  than  a  moist  soil  and  situation;  but  it  thrives  most  luxu- 
riantly in  rich  meadows.  It  was  of  this  grass  that  the  Ame- 
rican prize  bonnet,  in  imitation  of  Leghorn,  was  manufactured 
by  Miss  Woodhouse.  It  yields  an  abundance  of  seed,  which, 
20* 


234  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

in  a  separate  state,  are  diflBcult  to  sow,  on  account  of  their 

filaments  causing    them  to  adhere  together.      To    counteract 

this,  they  are  mixed  with  a  portion  of  newly  slaked  lime,  in 

order  to  separate  them;  but  not  in  such  quantity  as  to  injure 

the  seed.      They  are  then  well  rubbed  in  a  suflQcient  quantity 

of  dry  sand,  after  which  they  may  be  sown. 

This  species  varies  considerably  in  size  and  appearance  when  growing  in 
diiferent  soils  and  situations.  In  our  best  soils  the  radical  leaves  are  verj-  long 
and  luxuriant — when  it  is  known  by  the  name  of  green  grass.  This  has  by 
botanists  been  made  a  distinct  species,  under  the  name  of  Poa  xiridis;  but  it 
is  probably  nothing  more  than  a  variety  [very  true].  It  is,  indeed,  as  Muhlen- 
berg terms  it,  '■'optimum  pabulum.^'  being  decidedlj' the  most  valuable  of  all  the 
grasses  known  in  our  pastures.  It  has  not  been  found  necessary  to  cultivate 
it  by  sowing  the  seed;  for  when  the  land  is  duly  prepared  by  lime  and  manure, 
it  soon  takes  possession  of  the  soil — or,  comes  in,  as  the  farmers  term  it — and 
supersedes  the  artificial  grasses.  In  very  poor  land  it  deteriorates  so  much, 
that  it  would  scarcely  be  recognised  as  the  same  plant. — Dr.  Darlington's 
Flora  Cestrica,  p.  75. 

11.  Bough  Stalked  Meadow  Grass. 

Dr.  Darlington  says  this  species  bears  a  strong  ''resem- 
blance to  the  preceding,  when  growing  in  open  grounds — but 
is  far  superior  in  value."  In  England  it  is  held  in  high  re- 
pute, being  considered  as  one  of  the  superior  pasture  grasses, 
forming  a  part  of  the  richest  meadows.  It  is  nutritive,  and 
greatly  relished  by  pasturing  animals.  It  delights  in  moist 
and  sheltered  spots;  hence  it  is  found  naturally  in  moist  mea- 
dows, and  the  edges  of  wet  ditches.  In  dry  and  exposed 
grounds  its  produce  is  inconsiderable;  and  this  circumstance 
must  determine,  in  certain  cases,  the  expediency  of  cultivating 
it.  It  is  considered  as  one  of  the  six  best  British  grasses  for 
laying  down  either  dry  or  watered  meadows. 

12.  Fertile  Meadow  Grass. 

This  is  a  native  of  Germany,  where  it  is  esteemed  as  one  of 
the  superior  pasture  grasses.  It  grows  near  rivers,  in  wet 
situations,  and  on  moist  grounds.  It  is  said  to  perfect  its  seeds 
abundantl}'.  Experiments  are  yet  wanting,  on  the  value  and 
uses  of  this  species,  as  well  as  many  others. 

13.  Annual  Meadow  Grass. 

This  species,  Poa  annua,  has  an  annual  root;  continues  to 
flower  throughout  the  spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  but  rarely 
attaining,  even  in  the  most  fertile  situations,aheight  of  more  than 
ten  or  twelve  inches,  which  is  an  objection,  but  overcome,  how- 
ever, in  the  estimation  of  English  farmers,  by  its  great  produce, 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  235 

being  the  most  prolific  of  all  the  grasses.  We  cannot  recom- 
mend it  with  confidence  to  the  attention  of  American  farmers, 
although  Mr.  Stillingfleet  says  that  cattle  of  every  de- 
scription are  extremely  partial  to  it;  that  it  afibrds  the  best  of 
hay  for  milch  cows,  and  yields  most  abundantly.  Dr.  Dar- 
lington is  of  opinion  that  this  humble  species  was  brought 
over  from  Europe.  It  is  almost  the  only  grass  that  will  grow 
in  towns  and  near  works  where  the  smoke  of  coal  abounds. 

14.  Reed  Meadow  Grass. 

Reed  meadow  grass,  Poa  aquatica,  is  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  esteemed — because  most  useful — of  the  British  grasses. 
It  abounds  in  low,  flat,  and  fenny  countries,  on  the  banks  of 
rivers  and  the  margins  of  pools.  From  its  strong  stem  and 
upright  growth,  it  is  not  liable  to  injury  from  inundations,  and 
consequently  suitable  for  those  low  places  which  are  unfit  from 
their  situation  for  the  finer  grasses.  It  contains  a  much  larger 
proportion  of  sugar  than  the  best  herbage  grasses,  and  is  there- 
fore highly  relished  by  pasturing  animals.  It  is,  however,  too 
purely  aquatic  in  its  habits  to  allow  of  any  extension  in  its  cul- 
ture. 

15.  Floating  Meadow  Grass. 

This  plant,  Poafluitans,  is  found  in  ditches,  stagnant  waters, 
and  other  moist  situations,  its  stern  varying  from  one  to  three 
feet  in  height.  Its  seeds  are  the  manna  of  the  shops,  and  are 
gathered  abundantly  in  Poland,  Russia,  and  some  parts  of  Ger- 
many, where  they  are  used  as  food.  It  is  found  in  New  Hol- 
land, a  country  abounding  in  vast  marshes.  It  is  too  aquatic 
in  its  habits  to  become  a  subject  of  profitable  culture;  except 
in  situations  in  which,  without  difficulty,  it  could  be  kept  par- 
tially covered  with  water. — Low. 

16.  Flat  Stalked  Meadow  Grass. 

This  grass,  Poa  compressa,  flourishes  in  dry  soils,  and 
flowers  from  July  to  August.  In  Dr.  Anderson's  estimation, 
it  is  the  best  and  most  valuable  of  all  the  jwas.  Its  dark  Saxon 
leaves  are  compact  and  succulent,  and  grow  so  firmly  together 
as  to  form  a  pile  of  the  richest  pasture  grass.  It  produces  a  fine 
turf,  admirably  adapted  to  yards  and  lawns,  and  also  imparts  a 
most  delicate  flavour  to  the  flesh  of  sheep,  to  which  it  is  pecu- 
liarly grateful. 


236  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 


17.  Meadow  or  Woolly  Soft  Grass. 

The  systematic  name  of  this  plant  is  Holcus  lunatus.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Flora  Cestrica  of  Chester  county,  it  is  a  natu- 
ralized foreigner.  It  is  the  only  species  constituted  here.  Judge 
BuEL  says  it  is  a  native.  Dr.  JNIuhlenberg  considers  it  as 
very  valuable;  but  the  majority  of  our  farmers  entertain  a  dif- 
ferent opinion  of  its  merits.  It  grows  readily  on  all  soils,  espe- 
cially the  peaty,  producing  a  profusion  of  light  seeds,  which  are 
easily  dispersed  by  the  wind,  from  which  circumstance,  when 
it  is  once  introduced,  it  is  with  some  difficulty  freed  from  it.  It 
is  disliked  by  cattle,  and  refused  by  them  when  other  herbage 
can  be  obtained.  It  is  also  injurious  to  horses,  when  made 
into  hay,  by  producing  a  profuse  discharge  of  urine  and  general 
weakness.     It  is  not  an  early  grass. 

IS.  Foivl  Meadow  Grass. 

Fowl  meadow  grass,  Poa  aviaria — Spicalis  subbifloris,  was 
first  discovered  in  a  meadow  in  Dedham,  Mass.  Mr.  Deane 
supposed  the  seed  to  have  been  brought  there  by  water-fowls — 
hence  its  name.  It  is  an  excellent  grass  for  wet  meadows,  and 
has  been  known  to  yield  three  tons  to  the  acre  in  one  season. 
It  remains  so  long  green  that  it  may  be  mowed  at  any  time 
from  July  till  October.  It  makes  very  good  hay  for  horses, 
and  neat  cattle  particularly. — Farmer^ s  Assistant,  p.  128. 
Some  botanists,  and  many  farmers  who  have  examined  the 
character  of  this  plant,  think  it  very  nearly  allied  to  the  florin 
grass. 

1 9.  Crested  Dog^s  Tail  Grass. 

This  plant,  Cynosurus  cristatus,  has  a  wide  range  of  soils 
and  situations;  is  good  for  upland  pastures,  and  affords  a  whole- 
some food  for  sheep.  Though  valuable,  it  cannot  be  regarded 
asoneof  the  superior  grasses.  It  flowers  somewhat  late;  abounds 
with  seed,  which  is  easily  gathered;  but  great  care  should  be 
take«  that  they  are  fully  ripe,  otherwise  they  will  not  germinate. 
Dr.  Darlington  says  it  "makes  a  fine  carpeting  in  lawns, 
lanes  and  wood  yards,  in  the  latter  part  of  summer.  Cattle  and 
hogs  are  very  fond  of  it.  It  rarely  grows  on  mowing  grounds." 
It  is  probably  a  native. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  237 


20.  Sheep's  Fescue  Grass. 

Sheep's  fescue  grass,  Festnca  ovina,  is  one  of  the  smallest 
grasses,  growing  on  dry,  light,  and  elevated  grounds.  It  is  en- 
tirely an  herbage  plant,  and  is  only  referred  to  here  because 
some  botanists  have  spoken  of  it  with  approbation.  It  is  a 
grass,  however,  which  there  can  be  no  possible  object  in  intro- 
ducing and  cultivating  in  arable  soils  in  this  country;  as  it  is 
the  interest  of  the  farmer  to  stock  his  pastures  with  the  best 
grasses  which  they  are  capable  of  producing. 

21.  Meadow  Fescue  Grass. 

This  plant,  Festuca  pratensis,  although  but  little  cultivated, 
has  found  its  way  into  all  our  best  meadows  and  pastures 
amongst  us.  In  England  it  takes  high  rank  among  the  supe- 
rior grasses.  Its  root  is  perennial  and  fibrous;  leaves  succu- 
lent, and  readily  eaten  by  cattle.  It  is  less  suited  to  the  new 
system  of  alternate  tillage  than  some  other  of  the  grasses,  as  it 
requires  a  much  longer  time  to  arrive  at  maturity. 

It  is  an  early  perennial  and  very  hardy  grass— thriving  with  uncommon 
luxuriance  m  almost  every  soil,  producing  very  sweet  herbage,  which  is  eaten 
with  avidity  by  every  sort  of  cattle,  making  excellent  hay,  and  producing  abun- 
dance of  seed,  which  may  be  easily  gathered.  It  bears  a  very  great  resem- 
blance to  the  rye  grass,  to  which  it  is  in  many  respects  greatly  superior,  at  least 
lor  torming  or  improving  meadows;  as  it  is  much  longer,  and  more  productive 
01  lohage  It  flowers  about  the  middle  of  June.-^ The  Complete  (English^  Gra- 
zier, sixth  edition,  p.  489.  v      &       ^       « 

22.  Floating  Fescue  Grass. 

This  plant,  Festuca  fluitans,  delights  in  very  wet  grounds; 
it  is  often  found  in  rich  swamps,  bogs,  ditches,  and  ponds;  it  is 
singular  in  its  habit,  growing  as  well  probably  in  as  out  of  the 
water.  It  flowers  in  June.  Horses  and  cows  especially  are 
very  fond  of  it,  and  it  is  said  that  the  very  superior  exceflence 
of  the  Cottenham  and  Chedler  cheese  is  owing  to  this  o-rass,  as 
it  imparts  a  rich  and  peculiar  flavour  to  the  milk  of  cows  fed 
mainly  upon  it.  It  springs  early,  and  is  recommended  for 
newly  reclaimed  morasses,  swamps,  bogs,  and  lands  recovered 
from  the  sea.  It  is  a  native  of  America.  This  plant  is  proba- 
bly the  same  as  the  floating  meadow  grass.  Curtis  says  it  is 
greedily  devoured  by  every  species  of  stock,  not  exceptino- 
hogs  and  ducks,  and  geese  eagerly  devour  the  seeds,  which  are 
small,  but  very  sweet  and  nourishins:. 


238  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 


23.  Hard  Fescue  Grass. 

The  hard  fescue  grass,  Festuca  duriuscula,  flourishes  in 
almost  any  situation,  wet  or  dry,  blossoms  in  June,  and  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  best  of  the  dwarf  sorts  of  grasses,  and  suited 
to  the  pasturage  of  sheep.  It  frequently  grows  to  the  height 
of  three,  and  sometimes  four  feet;  it  soon  becomes  thin,  and 
disappears.     It  is  suitable  only  for  mixing  with  other  grasses. 

24.  Tall  Fescue  Grass. 

The  tall  fescue  grass,  Festuca  elatior,  is  a  native  perennial 
grass,  very  luxuriant  and  productive  in  some  sections,  but  not 
a  general  favourite  with  our  farmers.  It  is  rather  coarse.  Cows 
are  fond  of  it,  but  horses  reject  it.  It  grows  naturally  in  bog 
meadows,  moist  places,  and  in  woods.  Leaves  broad,  stem 
high,  sometimes  six  feet,  and  flowers  in  July.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  unfavourable  opinion  entertained  by  botanists  of  this 
plant,  we  believe  that,  with  proper  care  and  attention,  it  may 
be  brought  to  take  rank  with  our  most  esteemed  and  valuable 
grasses. 

25.  Spiked  Fescue  Grass. 

Festuca  coliacea,  spiked  fescue  grass,  grows  in  moist  mea- 
dows, and  is  said  to  be  very  productive.  In  England  it  very 
rarely  perfects  its  seeds,  but  this,  with  us,  would  not  be 
a  serious  objection  to  its  cultivation  were  it  otherwise  useful, 
as  seed  in  suflicient  quantities  might  be  readily  obtained  from 
other  countries.  At  present,  it  is  a  stranger  to  American 
practice;  and  it  cannot  be  recommended  as  an  agricultural 
plant  until  further  experiments  are  made. 

26.    Yarrow. 

Yarrow,  Achillea  millefolium,  is  pronounced  by  the  editor 
of  the  "Complete  Grazier,"  as  not  only  one  of  the  most  com- 
mon, but  also  one  of  the  most  valuable  plants  growing  in  Bri- 
tain.* It  is  also  highly  extolled  by  Dr.  Anderson.  It  thrives 
well  on  moist  loams,  and  also  on  the  dryest  soils — it  is,  indeed, 
suited  to  almost  every  soil — flowers  in  July  and  August,  and, 
according  to  Arthur  Young,  it  is  a  plant  every  way  deserv- 
ing of  attention,!    Its  great  virtue  consists  in  resisting  drought. 

*  Complete  Grazier,  (sixth  and  last  edition,)  p.  479. 

+  See  A.  Young's  paper  read  before  the  Board  of  English  Agriculture,  vol. 
ii.  p.  14G. 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  239 

We  think  it  an  error  to  rank  this  plant  among  grasses.  It  is 
said  to  be  a  native,  but  Dr.  Darlington  speaks  of  it  as  a 
foreigner,  now  extensively  naturalized.  It  is  an  aromatic 
bitter  and  astringent,  and  popular  as  a  tonic,  but  is  regarded 
by  our  farmers  as  a  weed. 

27.  Blue  Dog's  Tail  Grass. 

According  to  Mr.  Curtis,  the  blue  dog's  tail,  Cynosurus 
cseruleus,  is  the  earliest  of  all  the  British  grasses,  flowering  a 
fortnight  before  the  sweet  scented  vernal  grass.  It  is  not  pro- 
ductive, but  endures  the  droughts  of  summer  and  autumn  re- 
markably well.  It  is  found  in  Scotland  on  the  highest  lime- 
stone rocks.  We  know  not  whether  it  is  native  in  this 
country. 

28.   Cichory. 

Cichory,  Cichorium  intybus,  sometimes  called  common 
wild  succory,  is  a  perennial  vegetable,  and  in  the  English 
works  is  set  down  among  the  artificial  grasses.  It  is  indigenous 
in  Europe,  and  is  becoming  extensively  naturalized  in  our 
country.  Its  value  for  feeding  cattle,  was  first  discovered  and 
made  known  by  that  sincere  and  steadfast  friend  of  agricul- 
tural improvement  the  late  Arthur  Young,  Esq.,  and  con- 
sequently is  of  but  recent  date  (1780).  It  is  cultivated  in 
France  as  an  herbage  and  pasture  plant;  and  in  Germany  and 
Flanders  also,  for  its  roots,  from  which  a  substitute  for  coffee 
is  prepared.  It  does  very  well  on  all  the  inferior  class  of  soils, 
and  thrives  to  much  profit  on  bogs,  and  low  and  wet  meadows; 
while  at  the  same  time  it  will  flourish  on  the  weak,  thin  and 
sandy  soils,  producing  on  such,  a  greater  quantity  of  sheep 
food  than  any  other  plant  at  present  known  to  cultivation. 
Those  who  keep  a  large  stock  of  swine  will  find  it  to  ad- 
vantage. It  answers  well  for  soiling  cattle.  The  culture  of 
this  plant  is  the  same  as  clover,  fjlij^  It  is  not  to  be  cultivated 
for  making  into  hay,  which  is  said  to  be  an  objection.  It  is 
cultivated  in  many  gardens  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Philadel- 
phia for  culinary  purposes.  The  seed  is  in  general  sown  broad- 
cast, though  on  poor  lands  it  is  best  drilled  in  rows  about  nine 
inches,  and  on  better  soil  twelve  inches  asunder,  after  the  soil 
has  been  fully  pulverized.  It  is  then  to  be  rolled.  When 
sown  broadcast,  it  only  requires  to  be  once  slightly  harrowed. 
Ten  pounds  of  seed  are  sufficient  for  an  acre.  It  thrives  well 
on  any  soil,  but  is  considered  as  an  uncertain  crop. 


240  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

29.   Gama  Grass. 

Gama  grass,  Tripsacum  dactyloides,  is  a  native  of  the 
southern  parts  of  the  United  States.  It  has,  however,  been 
found  wild  as  far  south  as  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut.  It  is 
a  stout  and  very  remarkable  grass — its  growth  and  produce  are 
prodigious — indeed  almost  incredible,  and  could  not  be  believed 
were  the  statements  not  made  by  gentlemen  in  whose  veracity 
the  fullest  confidence  may  be  placed.  Although  stout  and  very 
coarse,  all  kinds  of  graminivorous  animals,  it  is  said,  eat  it  with 
avidity.  Dr.  Hardeman,  of  Missouri,  it  appears,  was  the  first 
cultivator  of  this  plant  in  the  United  States.  He  states  that  a 
single  root,  covering  a  circle,  the  diameter  of  which  was  two 
feet,  yielded  at  one  cutting  fifty-two  pounds  of  green  hay. 
We  infer  from  this,  that  this  plant  has  as  great  if  not  a  greater 
affinity  for  moisture,  than  the  willow.  Mr.  J.  Magoffin,  who 
first  introduced  its  culture  in  Alabama,  where  it  is  said  to 
abound  in  its  wild  state,  says  that  when  all  surrounding  vegeta- 
tion was  destroyed  or  burnt  up  by  drought,  this  grass  was  green 
and  flourishing,  and  that  during  the  month  of  July  it  grew 
forty-three  inches.  He  cut  it  on  the  first  day  of  each  month 
during  the  drought,  and  it  was  found  to  range  from  three  and 
a  half  to  four  and  a  half  feet  in  height.  The  editor  of  the 
American  Farmer  received  a  blade  of  the  gama  grass  in  a  let- 
ter, measuring  thirty-two  and  a  half  inches  in  length,  the 
growth  of  twelve  days. 

Plant  the  seed  in  either  of  the  fall  months,  the  earlier  the 
better,  in  a  bed  or  garden,  or  some  sheltered  spot.  They  will 
come  up  mostly  in  the  spring.  At  one  year  transplant  the 
roots  to  any  description  of  rich  soil,  except  a  very  wet  one. 
Set  them  two  feet  apart  each  way,  and  the  second  year  from 
transplanting  they  will  quite  cover  the  ground.  The  meadow 
will  now  afford  a  very  heavy  crop  of  grass,  either  for  soiling 
or  hay,  once  a  month,  for  five  or  six  months  during  each  year. 
The  roots  penetrate  the  ground  to  such  a  depth  as  almost  to 
defy  frost  or  drought;  this  property  of  the  root  renders  the 
grass  valuable  for  covering  the  steep  sloping  banks  of  railroads 
and  canals.  If  sufl'ered  to  go  to  seed,  it  becomes  too  coarse  for 
hay.  It  is  also  raised  from  the  seed,  but  the  unusual  length  of 
time  it  requires  to  vegetate  its  seed,  is  a  very  serious  objection 
to  this  mode  of  cultivation. 

This  grass  is  a  great  favourite  with  many  of  our  southern 
cultivators;  but  how  it  is  generally  received,  and  what  pro- 
gress has  been  made  in  its  culture  in  the  southern  states,  where 
alone,  we  presume,  it  can  be  cultivated  to  advantage,  we  are 
not  informed. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS,  241 

30.  Guinea  Grass. 

Guinea  grass,  Panicum  polygonum,  is  a  naturalized  plant, 
introduced  into  this  country  many  years  since  from  Jamaica, 
■whence  it  was  originally  derived  from  Guinea.  It  was  in  high 
repute  with  many  of  our  western  and  southern  planters  some 
years  since,  but  for  some  cause  or  other,  at  present  unknown 
to  us,  its  culture  at  the  present  time  is  almost  obsolete.  It 
was  introduced  more  than  fifty  years  since  into  South  Carolina 
by  the  Hon.  Henry  Laurens,  President  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  Though  by  many  considered  as  an  annual,  it  is  a 
perennial  plant. 

The  Memoirs  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Philadelphia 
contain  several  interesting  papers  on  the  subject  of  this  plant. 
Among  them  one  from  Dr.  Brown,  of  Natchez,  accompanied 
by  certificates,  stating  that  eight  horses  were  kept  during  the 
growing  season  upon  the  grass  cut  from  one  quarter  of  an  acre: 
a  most  remarkable  circumstance.  A  Mr.  Oglesby,  of  Ken- 
tucky, fed  six  horses  during  the  summer  of  1812  on  the  grass 
grow  on  a  quarter  of  an  acre.  He  planted  the  second  week  in 
May,  commenced  cutting  on  the  20th  of  June,  cut  it  five 
times  over  by  the  middle  of  October,  obtaining  from  each 
plant,  which  occupied  a  square  yard,  about  sixty  pounds  of 
green  grass.  He  states  that  he  has  frequently  known  it  to 
grow  four  inches  in  twenty-four  hours.  Mr.  Bronnough  says 
it  will  produce  more  than  six  times  the  quantity  of  any  other 
grass  he  is  acquainted  with. 

We  see  no  reason  why  this  grass,  if  the  above  statements  are 
correct,  should  fall  into  disrepute;  nor  why  its  cultivation  may 
not  be  resuscitated  among  us  to  great  profit  in  this  age  of  agri- 
cultural improvement. 

31.  Blue  Grass. 

Blue  grass,  Poa  compressa.  This  well  known  grass  affords 
a  most  nutritious  pasture,  and  for  this  reason  it  has  of  late 
years  become  a  great  favourite  with  our  western  farmers.  It 
is  now  most  extensively  cultivated  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee, 
and  is  rapidly  coming  into  use  in  all  the  grazing  districts.  It 
grows  remarkably  well  under  cover  of  woodland,  and  is  also 
much  esteemed  as  an  important  part  of  the  mixture  of  seeds  in 
laying  down  lands  to  grass.  Professor  Gordon,  of  Clinton 
College,  Tenn.,  who  has  with  much  care  and  patience  investi- 
gated its  merits,  speaks  of  it  in  the  highest  terms  of  commen- 
dation. Dr.  Darlington  says  that  "it  is  not  so  much  esteemed 
as  the  green  meadow  grass,  Poa pratensis,  and  is  sometimes 
21 


242  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS. 

rather  troublesome  in  the  rotation  of  crops,  by  its  tenacity  of 
life."  The  learned  Doctor  thinks  the  blue  grass  of  our  pastures 
is  an  introduced  plant.  That  it  is  a  native  plant  we  entertain 
no  doubt,  yet  at  the  same  time  it  may  be  indigenous  to  other 
countries.  The  Domestic  Encyclopaedia  says  that  it  is  par- 
ticularly proper  for  soiling,  and  that  it  will  bear  close  and 
frequent  mowing. 

32.   Tares. 

The  tare,  Vicia  sativa,  is  one  of  the  most  esteemed  of  the 
forage  plants  of  England.  It  is  an  annual,  very  hardy,  and  has 
been  cultivated  in  Europe  from  time  immemorial.  It  said  to 
be  a  native  of  Europe,  where,  according  to  Rat,  a  celebrated 
botanist,  it  was  most  extensively  cultivated  in  1686;  but  we 
presume  that  although  so  extensively  diffused  over  that  con- 
tinent, it  was  originally  introduced  from  Japan,  We  find 
mention  made  of  it  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  who  visited 
Japan  and  other  islands  in  1686.  It  is  now  cultivated  with 
much  success  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a  sort 
of  pea,  of  which  there  are  several  varieties,  one  of  which  is  dis- 
tinguished by  producing  yellow  seeds;  two  kinds  only  are  cul- 
tivated in  Europe — the  winter  and  the  spring  tares. 

The  tare,  by  being  sown  in  autumn  or  in  spring,  acquires 
habits  so  different,  that  many  have  supposed  the  spring  and 
winter  tares,  as  they  are  called,  to  be  different  species.  They 
are,  however,  says  Professor  Low,  from  whom  we  quote,  the 
sa7ne  species,  and  do  not  even  constitute  botanical  varieties. 
But  from  the  different  habits  of  ripening  which  they  acquire, 
they  should  be  always  sown  at  the  periods  to  which  they  are 
respectively  suited — that  is,  the  winter  lares  should  be  sown  in 
autumn,  and  the  spring  tares  in  spring;  for  repeated  experi- 
ments have  shown  that  spring  tares  sown  in  autumn  will  fre- 
quently perish  in  the  first  frosts,  while  the  winter  tares  remain 
uninjured. 

Arthur  Young  says,  in  one  of  his  Essays,  "the  cultivation 
of  the  tare  is  extending  every  year — its  importance  is  better 
understood.  The  author  of  this  Essay,"  he  continues,  "feels 
both  pleasure  and  pride  in  having  been  the  first  person  who 
raised  them  on  a  large  scale,  and  publicly  recommended  them 
to  the  notice  of  agriculturists.  Now,  in  1821,  after  thirty 
years  experience  of  their  utility,  it  would  be  difficult  for  him 
to  say  more  in  their  favour  than  they  deserve.  But  he  takes 
leave  to  observe  that  they  may  be  made  one  of  the  principal 
means  of  enabling  the  arable  farmer  to  support  as  much  live 
stock. as  the  grazier.     For  during  the  time  they  occupy  the 


CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS.  243 

ground,  they  produce  as  much  green  food  of  the  best  quality 
per  acre,  as  the  richest  grazing  land;  and  the  ground  may  be 
cleared  of  them  in  such  good  time,  (June,)  as  to  admit  of  rais- 
ing a  clean  crop  of  either  turnips,  beets,  rape,  cabbages  or  pota- 
toes, on  the  same  soil  in  the  same  season — and  even  after  the 
crop  of  rape,  cabbages,  or  potatoes,  or  beets  have  been  culti- 
vated and  removed,  the  same  soil  may  be  prepared  and  sown 
with  either  wheat,  barley,  oats,  or  pulse.  By  this  means  three 
valuable  crops  may  be  obtained  in  anyplace  every  two  years." 

The  tare  does  best  on  a  clayey  soil,  but  will  grow  in  any 
soil  not  too  dry,  provided  it  is  rich.  As  this  crop  very  soon 
spreads  and  covers  the  surface,  a  dry  season  is  considered  the 
most  favourable,  as  in  a  moist  climate,  or  v/hen  the  season  is 
unusually  damp  and  wet,  the  stems  grow  with  such  luxuriance 
as  very  often  to  rot  at  the  bottom;  while  on  the  other  hand,  if 
the  season  proves  remarkably  dry,  the  haulm  is  deficient  in 
length. 

When  tares  are  sown  in  autumn,  the  preparation  of  the 
ground  seldom  consists  of  more  than  one  ploughing,  after 
which  the  seeds  are  sown  in  the  usual  manner  and  harrowed — 
nothing,  however,  would  be  lost  by  a  more  thorough  tillage. 
When  sown  in  spring,  the  land  should  be  ploughed  the  pre- 
ceding fall,  cross  ploughed  in  the  spring,  well  harrowed,  and 
receive  a  third  ploughing  if  necessary,  as  it  is  always  best  to 
have  the  surface  well  prepared.  As  soon  as  sown  the  land 
should  be  well  rolled,  to  facilitate  the  subsequent  action  of  the 
scythe.  If  the  spring  crop  requires  manure  it  should  be  ap- 
plied to  the  land  and  turned  under  the  preceding  autumn.  It 
is  a  grand  error  to  sovv  tares  on  land  which  is  not  clean  and  in 
good  condition.  When  designed  for  green  food  at  a  late  season, 
sow  in  spring — and  in  order  to  procure  a  succession  of  cuttings 
during  sum.mer  and  autumn,  portions  of  the  land  should  be  sown 
at  intervals  from  the  middle  of  March  to  the  end  of  May. 

The  time  of  sowing  depends  on  the  kind  of  tare  and  the 
object  had  in  view  in  its  cultivation.  Fall  sowing  may  take 
place  from  the  middle  of  September  to  the  10th  of  November; 
and  in  spring  as  early  as  the  state  of  the  season  will  justify,  but 
not  until  all  danger  from  frosts  is  fully  removed.  The  usual 
7node  of  sowing  is  broadcast,  though  they  are  better  sown  in 
rows  like  peas  and  beans,  though  this  is  by  no  means  essential. 
The  quantity  of  seed  required  to  the  acre  is  from  three  to  four 
bushels — when  intended  for  seed  alone,  two  bushels  and  a  half 
are  found  sufficient.  It  is  customary  to  mix  a  portion  of  some 
of  the  cereal  grasses  with  the  tare,  by  which  the  quantity  of 
fodder  is  increased — in  their  growth  they  do  not  interfere  with 
each  other.    For  winter  tares,  rye  is  recommended;  for  spring 


244  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

tares,  oats  or  barley.  The  after  culture,  if  sown  broadcast, 
consists  merely  in  keeping  down  the  weeds;  if  the  drill  system 
has  been  adopted,  the  cultivator  may  be  used  between  the  rows, 
by  which,  in  addition  to  removing  the  weeds,  the  soil  will  be 
kept  loose. 

Tares,  when  used  as  green  forage,  are  cut  after  the  pods 
are  formed,  but  long  before  the  ripening  of  the  seed;  and  there- 
fore, being  in  the  class  of  crops  most  generally  allowed  to  ma- 
ture their  seeds,  they  are  not  exhausting  to  the  soil.  But  on 
the  contrary,  with  relation  to  the  farmer,  they  are  to  be  con- 
sidered as  restorative  crops,  from  the  great  quantity  of  manure 
which  their  consumption  affords.  They  are  exceedingly  nutri- 
tious, and  supply  a  larger  quantity  of  food,  for  a  limited  period, 
than  almost  any  other  forage  crop.  All  the  animals  of  the  farm 
are  fond  of  it,  and  thrive  upon  it  in  an  eminent  degree.  Hogs 
may  be  fattened  entirely  upon  it.  It  is  suited  to  milch  cows, 
causing  them  to  give  more  butter  than  any  other  species  of 
food — except  sugar-beet — and  it  is  employed  extensively  in 
feeding  horses.  Tares  are  sometimes  eaten  offhy  sheep  being 
penned  upon  them,  but  never  by  the  larger  animals. 

Tare  crops  are  sometimes  made  into  hay,  but  this  practice 
cannot  be  recommended  in  this  country — here  the  great  and 
only  advantage  is  in  their  cultivation  as  green  crops.  The 
jiroduce  of  tares  cut  green  is,  according  to  ^NIiddletox,  ten  or 
twelve  tons  per  acre.  The  produce  in  seed  is  also  consider- 
able, varying  according  to  the  season  and  other  circumstances, 
from  twenty-five  to  forty  bushels.  The  use  of  the  seed  is 
generally  for  re-production.  They  are  highly  relished  by 
pigeons,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  they  may  prove  a  very 
good  food  for  poultry.  In  Germany  they  are  fed  to  horses, 
cows,  sheep  and  swine.  The  diseases  of  the  tare  are  very 
few — a  crop  is  sometimes,  but  very  rarely,  lost  by  mildew.'^ 

33.  Hibbon  Grass. 

The  ribbon  grass,  Phalaris  americana,  is  likely  to  become 
of  great  value  in  our  husbandry.  It  has  been  found  to  be  better 
adapted  to  wet,  boggy  grounds  than  any  other  species  of  grass — 
to  propagate  rapidly  either  by  its  seeds  or  by  its  roots — to  yield 
a  very  large  product  in  hay  or  pasture,  and  to  be  well  adapted 
to  farm  stock.  The  subject  merits  further  attention,  [experi- 
ments,] and  if  our  anticipations  are  not  irrationally  founded,  it 
will  yet  become  the  gama  grass  of  the  north. — Buel.  The 
value  of  this  promising  grass  was  discovered  accidentally,  and 
is  thus  narrated  by  Abedxego  Robinsox,  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 
"A  neighbour  wishing  to  get  rid  of  some  of  the  roots  which 


CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS.  245 

encumbered  his  garden,  threw  them  into  a  bog,  where  they 
took  root  and  spread  over  a  large  space  of  ground,  exchiding 
every  other  plant.  The  water  flowed  through  the  roots  at  all 
seasons,  yet  the  turf  has  become  so  solid  as  to  bear  a  cart  and 
oxen.  I  walked  through  this  grass  when  in  bloom,  and  never 
beheld  a  more  handsome  and  luxurious  growth.  It  stood  per- 
fectly erect,  full  of  large  leaves,  even,  and  from  four  to  five  feet 
high.  It  will  produce  two  good  crops  in  a  season,  and  springs 
up  immediately  after  the  scythe.  It  produces  excellent  food — 
cattle  feed  it  close,  and  appear  to  be  more  fond  of  it  when  made 
into  hay  than  any  other  grass."  It  is  perennial,  spreads  rapidly 
and  may  be  easily  transplanted.  It  is  essentially  aquatic  in  its 
habits,  and  therefore  requires  a  soil  well  saturated  with  water, 
where  it  will  vegetate,  with  great  facility.  The  facts  here  nar- 
rated, are  gathered  from  publications  made  respecting  this 
grass  in  1S34.*  It  may  be  a  very  valuable  acquisition  to  our 
present  catalogue;  but  further  experiments  are  necessary  to 
determine  its  intrinsic  value  as  well  as  its  relative  merits. 

Of  the  various  plants  referred  to  in  the  preceding  pages, 
some  it  is  seen  are  chiefly  adapted  to  forage,  some  to  herbage, 
and  others  may  be  employed  partly  for  forage  and  partly  for 
herbage.  Several  of  the  forage  plants,  from  their  habits  of 
growth,  are  best  cultivated  by  themselves,  or  with  a  very  slight 
intermixture  of  other  seeds.  Of  this  description  are  the  tare, 
lucern  and  saintfoin  when  mown  for  forage.  The  trefoils, 
again,  and  the  other  smaller  leguminous  herbage  plants,  are 
greatly  benefited  by  a  mixture  with  some  of  the  grasses;  and 
it  is  a  point  of  useful  practice — worthy  the  attention  of  every 
enlightened  farmer — to  determine  what  kinds  should  be  se- 
lected, and  in  what  proportions  they  should  be  mixed.  In 
England,  the  plants  most  frequently  employed  for  producing 
mixed  forage  and  herbage,  are  the  red  and  white  clovers — 
and  of  the  native  grasses,  rye  grass.  The  rye  grass  is  well 
suited  for  general  culture,  arriving  more  quickly  than  most  of 
the  others  at  maturity,  producing  abundance  of  seeds,  at  all 
times  easy  to  be  obtained,  and  growing  well  under  the  shade 
of  grain. 

An  excellent  mixture,  when  the  land  is  to  remain  for  only 
one  year  in  grass,  is  given  by  professor  Low  as  follows:  rye 
grass,  seventeen  pounds;  meadow  cat's-tail  or  timothy,  three 
pounds;  red  clover,  eight  pounds;  white  clover,  two  pounds. 
A  mixture  in  these  proportions  will  yield  a  good  produce  for 
one  season,  whether  it  be  used  as  herbage  or  forage.  But  if 
the  land  is  to  remain  in  grass,  then  a  mixture  of  seeds  in  the 

*  Cultivator,  vol.  i.  p.  72-101. 
21* 


246  CULTIVATION  OP  PLANTS. 

following  proportions  will  be  found  advantageous.  Meadow 
foxtail,  three  pounds  and  three  quarters;  meadow  cat's-tail, 
half  a  pound;  rough  cock' s-foot,  five  pounds;  meadow  fescue, 
two  pounds;  rough  stalked  meadow  grass,  three  quarters  of  a 
pound;  rye  grass,  twelve  pounds;  red  clover,  two  pounds; 
white  clover,  six  pounds.  In  this  mixture  the  quantity  of  rye 
grass  is  equal  to  about  half  a  bushel — and  with  regard  to  the 
other  grasses,  the  proportions  are  such  that  each  will,  in  ordi- 
nary circumstances,  produce  an  equal  number  of  plants.  These 
proportions  are  obtained  by  computing  the  number  of  seeds  in 
a  given  weight,  and  the  number  of  each  which,  on  an  average, 
is  found  to  vegetate.  If  desired  that  the  rye  grass  should  be 
merely  in  proportion  with  the  other  grasses,  and  that  each  kind 
should  produce  an  equal  number  of  plants,  the  following  would 
be  nearly  the  proportions:  Meadow  foxtail,  five  pounds  and 
three  quarters;  meadow  cat's-tail,  one  pound;  rough  cock's- 
foot,  seven  pounds  and  three-quarters;  meadow  fescue,  three 
pounds;  rough-stalked  meadow  grass,  one  pound  and  a  quarter; 
rye  grass,  five  pounds  and  a  quarter.  Total,  twenty-four 
pounds.*  The  above  are  the  most  approved  and  esteemed 
mixtures  known  to  English  practice. 

*  Low's  Elements,  p.  435. 


247 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

Besides  the  immediate  importance  of  grass,  its  indirect  but 
certain  effect  on  the  production  of  grain,  by  communicating 
additional  fertility  to  the  soil,  in  the  alternate  courses  of  tillage 
and  pasturage,  is  a  most  important  consideration.  It  seems, 
indeed,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  the  soil  not  only  obtains  a  recruit 
of  food  for  the  nourishment  of  grain  when  cultivated,  from  the 
decayed  herbage,  and  the  manure  it  obtains  when  pastured, 
but  also  acquires  a  consistence  favourable  to  fertility,  while  it 
remains  in  grass,  defended  from  the  variations  of  the  seasons, 
under  the  protection  of  a  close  carpet.* 

The  produce  of  land  designed  for  the  feeding  of  animals, 
may  be  consumed  in  three  ways: — 1.  It  may  be  eaten  upon 
the  ground  where  it  grows,  which  is  termed  pasturing.  It 
may  be  cut  down  and  given  to  animals  while  it  is  yet  green, 
which  is  termed  soiling;  or  it  may  be  dried  for  preservation, 
when  it  is  termed  hay.  The  plants  employed  for  these  pur- 
poses are  the  different  forage  and  herbage  plants  which  have 
been  enumerated.  The  clovers,  and  similar  plants  mixed  with 
the  grasses,  may  be  applied  alike  to  forage  and  herbage.  They 
form  what  in  common  language  are  termed  the  artificial  or 
cultivated  grasses;  and  land,  when  producing  them,  is  com- 
monly said  to  be  in  grass.  The  seeds  of  the  grasses  and  of  the 
leguminous  plants  are  sown  in  spring,  as  has  been  previously 
described,  and  generally  upon  the  surface  of  ground  sown  with 
common  grain  crops.  When  the  grain,  as  wheat  for  instance, 
is  sown  in  autumn,  the  seeds  of  the  grasses  and  clovers  are 
sown  in  the  ensuing  spring,  upon  the  growing  crop  of  grain, 
and  immediately  harrowed  in.  But  when  the  grain  crop 
itself  is  sown  in  the  spring,  the  grass  seeds  are  also  sown,  just 
before  the  last  turn  of  the  harrow,  which  is  followed  by  the 
roller  to  complete  the  process. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  all  the  seeds  sown  are  of 
the  right  kind,  fresh^  well  and  perfectly  ripened;  and  especial 
care  must  be  taken  that  they  be  free  from  the  seeds  of  weeds; 
this  point  requires  the  greatest  caution.  Sowing  the  seed  is 
performed  either  by  the  hand,  broadcast,  or  by  machinery  con- 
structed for  this  purpose.  Grass  seeds  cannot  be  sown  too 
evenly — and  to  ensure  an  even  or  regular  disposition  of  the 

*  Sir  John  Sinclair's  Code  of  Agriculture,  p,  270, 


248        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

seeds  on  the  .ground,  many  good  farmers  prefer  sowing  each 
kind,  when  applied  in  sufficient  quantities,  by  different  casts. 
They  estimate  the  advantages  of  even  sowing  far  greater  than 
the  mere  extra  labour  and  time  consumed  in  carrying  out  their 
plans.  Uniformity  of  delivery  is  a  point  of  the  greatest  con- 
sequence; and  the  lighter  grass  seeds  should  never  be  sown 
in  windy  weather  or  in  wet  seasons.  The  proportions  in 
which  the  different  kinds  of  clovers  and  grasses  may  be  sown 
together  depends,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  on  the  longer 
or  shorter  period  for  which  the  land  is  to  remain  in  grass. 

The  principal  thing  in  the  choice  of  grasses  is,  to  sow  only 
such  in  the  same  field  as  ripen  nearly  at  the  same  time.  By 
this  means  finer  hay  will  be  obtained  than  by  any  other  method, 
and  there  will  be  much  less  trouble  in  making  it. 

In  laying  down  land  to  grass  permanently,  the  seeds  may 
be  sown  in  autumn  as  w^ell  as  in  spring,  without  any  grain  crop, 
it  affording  a  quicker  and  better  sward;  but  then  it  is  by  the 
sacrifice  of  a  crop  of  grain,  which  is  too  great  to  be  disregard- 
ed in  the  practice  of  the  farm.  This  system,  therefore,  cannot 
be  recommended,  especially  as  there  is  no  difficulty,  under  good 
management,  of  getting  the  seeds  of  grasses  and  clovers  to 
vegetate  under  the  shade  of  grain  in  sufficient  abundance  to 
stock  the  ground;  and  in  the  forming  of  the  meadow,  there- 
fore, there  can  seldom  be  a  reason  for  deviating  from  the  sim- 
ple and  economical  practice  of  sowing  the  seeds  of  the  herbage 
and  forage  plants  along  with  the  crop  of  grain. 

The  seeds  when  sown,  will  quickly  vegetate,  the  plants 
springing  up  under  the  shelter  of  the  larger  crop;  and  in 
autumn,  when  the  grain  is  gathered,  they  will  be  found  cover- 
ing the  surface.  It  is  the  practice  of  some  to  have  the  ground 
slightly  depastured  b\'  sheep  in  autumn,  when  it  has  acquired 
sufficient  growth  to  afford  a  bite;  but  this,  in  our  estimation,  is 
a  bad  practice.  Upon  no  consideration  whatever  should  heavy 
cattle  be  admitted  to  the  field,  as  they  would  most  essentially 
injure  it;  and  when  it  is  deemed  necessary  to  have  it  cropped 
by  sheep,  they  should  be  permitted  to  remain  upon  it  only  for 
a  short  time. 

In  the  following  season,  the  plants  may  be  consum.ed  in  either 
of  the  ways  already  mentioned,  which  are  as  follows: — 1.  They 
may  be  depastured  with  live  stock.  2.  They  may  be  mown 
several  times  during  the  season  for  green  forage,  and  the  after- 
math depastured,  3.  They  may  be  made  into  hay  and  the 
aftermath  depastured. 

Permanent  pastures  may  be  divided  into  two  kinds — rich 
or  feeding  lands,  and  hilly  or  rearing  pastures.  Under  the 
former  are  comprehended  all  old  rich  pastures  capable  of  fat- 


MANAGExMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.  249 

telling  cattle;  and,  under  the  second,  such  as  are  only  adapted 
to  rearing  them,  or  are  more  advantageously  depastured  with 
sheep. — Loudon.  Feeding  pastures  embrace  such  lands  as 
are  suitable  for  ha)^,  and  that  may,  at  pleasure,  be  converted  to 
arable  husbandry.  Upland  or  hilly  pastures,  include  such 
elevations  as  are  kept  constantly  in  pasture,  although  they  may 
be  brought  into  tillage  as  well  as  those  that  are  inaccessible  to 
the  plough.  These  lands  generally  produce  a  short  sweet 
herbage,  and  are  commonly  better  adapted  to  sheep  than  large 
cattle.  Meadow  lands  are  both  natural  and  artificial — natu- 
rally moist  or  rendered  so  by  irrigation.  All  mowing  lands 
■  are,  properly  speaking,  meadows;  but  when  we  speak  of  these 
in  general,  the  impression  is,  that  reference  is  had  to  low  moist 
grounds,  which,  in  their  natural  state,  are  adapted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  grass.  Of  meadows,  there  are  three  descriptions, 
river,  upland  and  bog. 

In  the  manage7nent  of  permanent  pastures,  weeding  must 
not  be  neglected.  Weeds  are  the  manifest  enemies  of  the  far- 
mer, they  injure  him  in  many  ways.  It  is  not  unfrequently 
the  case  that  they  impair  the  health  of  his  cattle,  impart  a  dis- 
agreeable quality  to  the  milk,  and  the  butter  made  under  such 
circumstances,  if  intended  for  market,  meets  generally  with  a 
tardy  sale  and  an  indifferent  price.  No  good  farmer,  who 
properly  appreciates  the  importance  of  the  subject,  will  permit 
a  weed  to  ripen  and  disperse  its  seed  over  his  fields.  A  man 
who  will  permit  noxious  weeds  to  grow  upon  his  farm,  and 
mature  their  seeds,  not  only  injures  himself,  but  wrongs  his 
neighbour,  who  may  be  a  clean  and  thrifty  husbandman,  but 
whose  fields  are  overrun  with  noxious  plants  by  the  unjustifi- 
able carelessness  of  his  neighbour.  This  is  a  subject  worthy 
of  the  serious  consideration  of  any  farmer,  and  is  mentioned 
incidentally  here,  on  account  of  its  importance. 

To  prevent  the  growth  of  moss  in  feeding  or  pasture  lands, 
is  a  very  nice  point  of  practice.  Harrowing  and  cross  harrow- 
ing with  tines  which  penetrate  the  earth  about  an  inch,  a 
sprinkling  of  grass  seeds  immediately  after  the  operation  of 
harrowing,  followed  by  a  top  dressing  of  lime  or  compost,  Avell 
prepared,  are  recommended  as  the  most  likely  means  to  extir- 
pate the  moss  and  benefit  the  pasture.  Ant  and  mole  hills,  if 
they  appear,  should  be  immediately  removed, — the  latter  may 
be  spread  over  the  ground. 

Upland  or  hilly,  sometimes  called  mountainous  pastures, 
afford,  in  many  cases,  a  very  rich  and  sweet  herbage,  though 
not  in  profusion.  Of  late,  systematic  farmers  have  in  many 
instances,  greatly  improved  these  pastures  by  drawing  surface 
drains  diagonally  across  the  face  of  the  hills  wherever  injurious 


250        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

moisture  appears,  by  which  the  herbage  produced  is  rendered 
not  only  more  palatable  and  wholesome,  but  the  waters,  by 
being  conducted  gently  downwards,  in  different  small  channels, 
are  prevented  from  cutting  those  deep  chasms  in  the  hill  sides, 
which  not  only  disfigure  the  surface,  but  in  times  of  heavy 
rain  very  essentially  injure  the  pastures.*  The  author  we  now 
quote  observes: — 

Tlie  next  great  improvement  of  which  such  pastures  are  susceptible,  is  that 
of  filling  the  soil  with  the  earliest  and  most  productive  plants  adapted  to  the 
soil  and  climate.  For  this  purpose,  the  ground  where  it  will  admit  of  cultiva- 
tion, should  be  laid  down,  after  being  well  limed,  with  a  suitable  mixture  of 
the  most  useful  varieties  of  grass  seeds.  Rye  grass,  red  and  white  or  Dutch 
clover,  with  the  later  flowering  gramma,  are  recommended.  There  is  no 
mode  by  which  upland  pastures  are  more  effectually  improved,  than  by  the  ap- 
plication of  lime,  either  spread  upon  the  surface  [as  a  top  dressing],  or  mixed 
with  the  soil.  In  the  latter  case,  it  is  essential  that  the  lime  should  be  mixed 
with  the  surface  soil  only. 

Among  the  rules  which  judicious  farmers  practice  in  the  management  of 
upland  pastures,  the  following  deserve  to  be  selected: — 1.  To  enclose  those 
pastures;  as  the  same  extent  of  land,  when  sheltered,  will  feed  a  greater  quan- 
tity of  stock,  and  to  better  purpose,  than  when  in  an  open  or  exposed  state.  2. 
Not  to  overstock  upland  pastures;  for  when  this  is  done,  the  cattle  are  not  only 
starved  and  the  quantity  of  herlDage  diminished,  but  the  soil  is  impoverish- 
ed. 3.  When  enclosed  and  subdivided,  the  stock  ought  to  be  shifted  from  one 
enclosure  to  another,  at  proper  intervals.  This  practice  tends  to  increase  the 
quantity  of  grass  which  has  thus  time  to  get  up — and  the  ground  being  fresh 
and  untainted  when  the  stock  return  to  it,  they  will  feed  with  greater  appetite 
and  relish.  4.  The  dung  dropt  by  stock  while  feeding  should  be  spread  about. 
5.  Where  the  large  and  the  small  animals  are  to  be  fed  on  the  same  pastures, 
the  larger  species  should  have  the  first  bite.  6.  It  is  not  thought  by  some  ad- 
visable to  pasture  land  with  a  mixed  collection  of  diff"erent  kinds  of  live  stock: 
and  it  is  generally  found  that  the  grass  produced  by  the  dung  of  cattle  or 
horses  is  injurious  to  sheep. — Sinclair''s  Code  of  Agriculture.  For  further  ob- 
servations on  mountain  and  upland  pastures,  see  article  Grazing. 

The  rules  for  the  management  of  rich  grazing  lands,  or 
feeding  pastures,  are  few,  simple,  and  of  easy  execution.  Sin- 
clair recommends  a  top  dressing  of  soot,  ashes,  lime,  malt- 
dust,  &c.  as  highly  beneficial  when  suited  to  the  soil,  which 
should  be  ascertained  by  experiment  before  much  expense  is 
incurred.  He  also  recommends  the  application  of  manure  in 
the  form  of  a  well  prepared  compost,  at  the  rate  of  from  thirty 
to  forty  cubic  yards  per  acre;  while  on  the  otlier  hand  Loudon 
says  that  the  application  of  manures  to  grazing  lands,  which 
not  being  used  as  hay  grounds,  afford  no  means  of  supply, 
may  certainly  be  considered  as  a  preposterous  practice,  and 
one  that  must  be  ruinous  to  the  other  parts  of  the  farm. 

Attention  to  the  weeding  of  grass  lands  has  been  already 
recommended  and  is  now  enforced.  It  is  necessary  also  to  clear 
them  of  all  rubbish  and  extraneous  substances  calculated  to  in- 
terfere with  the  growth  of  the  young  grass,  that  may  injure 
the  stock  if  pastured,  or  obstruct  the  scythe  should  it  be  used. 

*  Sinclair's  Code  of  Agriculture,  first  American  edition,  p.  270. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.        251 

Rolling  is  in  some  cases  indispensable,  and  should  be  omitted 
only  when  it  has  a  tendency  to  increase  a  too  tenacious  state 
of  the  sod,  which  by  farmers  is  termed  hide  bound;  in  this 
case,  scarifying  the  turf  with  a  plough  consisting  only  of  coul- 
ters or  harrow  teeth,  so  that  the  entire  surface  may  be  loosen- 
ed, is  to  be  recommended.  This  operation  is  undoubtedly 
useful,  especially  when  preceding  the  application  of  manures, 
which  have  a  more  ready  access  to  the  roots  of  the  grasses, 
thereby,  in  the  opinion  of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  obviating  in 
some  measure  the  objections  to  that  practice. 

Cattle  nor  horses  must  never  be  permitted  to  enter  or  remain 
upon  feeding  lands  of  a  retentive  quality  in  wet  seasons — the 
injury  the  best  lands  have  received  from  this  practice  is  incal- 
calculable.  ''Every  step  heavy  cattle  take  leaves  an  impres- 
sion which  rain  fills  with  water,  and  then  the  whole  stands  full 
like  a  cup.  This  wetness  destroys  the  herbage,  not  only  in  the 
hole,  but  that  also  which  surrounds  It;  while  at  the  same  time 
the  roots  of  the  grasses,  as  well  as  the  ground,  are  chilled  and 
injured.  No  good  farmer,  therefore,  will  permit  any  cattle  to 
set  foot  on  such  land  in  wet  weather,  and  few  during  the  win- 
ter months  under  any  consideration."  Rich  pastures,  on  which 
cattle  feed  well  and  thrive,  should  not  be  mown,  but  retained 
as  grazing  lands. 

It  is  an  important  maxim  in  the  management  of  grazing  lands,  not  to  adopt 
the  plan  of  mowing  and  feeding  alternately.  To  maintain  a  proper  quantity 
of  stock,  the  land  must  be  accustomed  to  keep  it: — the  more  it  has  kept  the 
more  it  will  keep — four  sheep  this  year,  five  the  next,  afterwards  more  with 
the  addition  of  manure.  Land  that  has  been  used  to  the  scythe,  will  often 
produce  more  grass,  but  that  will  not,  it  is  thought  by  some,  support  so  much 
stock,  nor  fatten  them  near  vso  well  as  an  old  pasture,  though  it  may  have 
been  better  manured.  Nor  will  old  pastures  produce  as  much  hay  as  the  other, 
for  each  will  grow  as  they  are  accustomed  to  grow,  and  will  not  readily  alter 
their  habits. — Sinclair. 

It  Is  a  very  nice  point  of  practice  to  ascertain  the  cases  in 
which  cutting  or  feeding,  or  in  other  words,  soiling  or  grazing, 
is  the  most  beneficial.  It  depends  entirely  upon  situation  and 
circumstances.  The  practice  of  soiling  has  certainly  great  ad- 
vantages over  the  more  common,  and  almost  universal  system 
of  allowing  the  animals  to  find  their  own  food  in  the  fields; 
yet  in  many  cases  it  is  not  practicable,  and  in  certain  other 
cases  not  expedient.  The  cases  in  which  it  is  not  practicable, 
according  to  Professor  Low,  are  when  the  land  does  not 
possess  a  sufficient  degree  of  natural  or  acquired  fertility  to 
produce  good  and  early  crops  of  grass,  or  when  sufficient  straw 
to  litter  the  animals  during  the  period  of  feeding  cannot  be 
obtained.  The  cases  in  which  soiling,  though  practicable,  is 
not  expedient,  are,  when  the  animals  to  be  fed  require  exer- 


252        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

cise  to  preserve  them  in  health  and  in  a  gBOwing  state.  See 
article  Soiling. 

An  eminent  agriculturist  observes  that  there  seems  to  be  a 
season  sometime  during  the  year,  when  grass  lands,  particu- 
larly old  turf,  should  be  eaten  very  close,  not  merely  for  the 
sake  of  preventing  waste,  but  also  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
down  the  coarser  kinds  of  plants,  and  giving  to  the  pastures  as 
equal  and  fine  a  sward  as  possible.  The  Farmer's  Assistant 
says  that  good  meadows  are  often  spoiled  by  close  feeding  in 
the  fall;  that  many  farmers  feed  them  in  the  spring  until  their 
upland  pastures  are  grown,  by  which  means  the  meadow  is 
poached,  and  the  roots  of  the  grass  so  torn  to  pieces,  that  not 
more  than  half  a  crop  may  be  expected,  which  would  be  re- 
alized by  pasturing  moderately  in  the  fall  and  mown  in  the 
spring. 

Water  for  stock  is  indispensable:  therefore  every  field  under 
pasture  should  be  well  supplied  with  it,  and  also  shelter  and 
shade.  In  Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  portable  sheds  are  in 
extensive  use;  and  generally  a  part  underneath  to  which  is  affixed 
a  lump  of  rock  salt  for  the  use  of  the  pasturing  animals.  We 
would,  however,  recommend  a  few  trees  in  clusters;  the  sugar- 
maple  would  answer  very  well. 

Meadoivs.  We  have  already  remarked  that  there  are  three 
descriptions  of  meadows.  1.  On  the  banks  of  streams  and 
rivers.  2.  On  the  uplands  or  elevated  grounds.  3.  Bog 
meadows. 

River  meadows  are  by  far  the  most  prolific  and  valuable, 
yielding  grass  and  hay  in  abundance,  and  producing  an  ever- 
lasting source  of  manure  for  the  enriching  of  the  adjacent 
grounds.  They  are  very  extensive  in  many  parts  of  this  coun- 
try; soil  deep  and  rich,  mostly  alluvial,  being  deposited  by  the 
water  or  washed  down  by  repeated  and  heavy  rains  from  the 
adjoining  eminences.  The  principal  defects  to  which  such  lands 
are  liable,  is  the  oozing  out  of  springs  at  their  junction  with  the 
rising  grounds  and  inundations  of  the  river  or  stream.  The 
latter  is  easily  remedied  by  a  proper  system  of  embankments; 
and  the  former  by  cutting  a  drain  at  a  suitable  point  sufficiently 
deep  to  carry  off  the  water  to  other  conductors.  By  this 
means  the  springs  are  tapped  above,  and  the  surplus  water  in- 
stead of  deluging  the  meadow  to  its  injury,  is  carried  oflf  by  a 
very  cheap,  simple  and  effectual  process.  It  may  be  necessary, 
however,  in  some  cases,  to  adopt  a  system  of  under-draining, 
which  see.  These  are  the  only  meadows  to  which  the  system 
of  irrigation  can  be  profitably  applied. 

Upland  meadows  or  mowing  grounds  rank  next  in  value 
to  the  water  or  river  meadows.     The  soil  is  either  not  usually 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.        253 

good,  or  is  rendered  so  by  artificial  means,  for  which  purpose 
— that  is,  to  bring,  them  up  to  a  high  state  of  fertility — ample 
supplies  of  manure  are  requisite;  the  best  mode  of  application 
is  by  way  of  top  dressing.  Upland  meadows  require  much 
more  care  and  attention  than  those  of  the  valleys,  which  we 
have  here  denominated  river  meadows.  In  manuring  upland 
meadows,  the  farmer  will  act  with  great  caution — much  is  left 
to  his  judgment,  as  he  alone  is  determined  by  the  state  of  the 
season,  the  kind  of  manure  to  be  used,  the  quantity  and  fre- 
quency of  its  application. 

Bog  meadows  are  the  least  esteemed  of  any.  The  term  in- 
cludes marshes,  swamps,  or  bogs,  producing  naturally  only 
rushes,  sedges,  and  the  larger  and  coarser  grasses.  These 
marshes  are  of  every  degree  of  natural  fertility.  The  marshes 
along  our  extended  sea-board  are  frequently  rendered  highly 
productive  and  of  great  value.  The  lowest  for  the  most  part 
in  the  scale  of  fertility  of  these  wet  lands,  and  yet  of  great  im- 
portance in  elevated  districts  where  they  abound,  are  those 
which  consist  of  a  thick  bed  of  peaty  matter.  These  lands  are 
generally  susceptible  of  improvement  by  draining,  and  may  be 
rendered  very  valuable,  and  from  producing  a  scanty,  coarse, 
unpalatable  herbage,  may  be  made  to  yield  an  abundance  of 
fine,  sweet  and  nutritious  grass.  See  Experiments  in  Reclaim- 
ing Wet  Meadows  and  Bogs. 

As  the  soil  of  these  wet  lands  improves,  so  for  the  most  part 
does  the  natural  produce  which  it  yields.  It  is  frequently  a 
question  of  expediency  whether  a  marsh  shall  be  broken  up 
for  tillage  or  allowed  to  yield  its  natural  plants.  It  may  pro- 
duce a  great  deal  of  manure,  without  requiring  any;  and  it 
may  furnish  a  valuable  resource  for  wintering  stock — yet  it 
may  not  be  capable  of  being  fitted  for  cultivation  but  by  a  very 
large  expenditure  of  capital.  The  manner  of  preparing  the  hay 
of  these  grounds,  is  similar  to  that  of  preparing  the  hay  of  the 
grasses.     See  article  Hay-making. 

A  very  great  diversity  of  opinion  has  prevailed  with  respect 
to  the  breaking  up  grass  lands,  with  a  view  of  restoring  them 
afterwards,  or  remaining  permanently  under  cultivation.  So 
important  was  this  subject  considered,  that  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, a  few  years  since,  requested  the  Board  of  Agriculture  to 
institute  an  inquiry  as  to  its  influences  and  effects,  both  in  a 
national  and  individual  light.  We  find  the  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture, in  compliance  with  a  requisition  from  the  House  of  Lords, 
instituting  in  the  year  1800  a  very  particular  and  extensive 
inquiry  "into  the  best  means  of  converting  certain  grass  lands 
into  tillage,  without  exhausting  the  soil,  and  of  returning  the 
same  to  grass,  after  a  certain  period,  in  an  improved  state,  or 
22 


254  MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

at  least  without  injury."  An  immense  mass  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  satisfactory  information  was  collected — the  essence 
of  which  will  be  found  in  the  following  sjmopsis,  prepared  by 
Sir  John  Sinclair,  and  published  in  his  valuable  work. 

Rich  fermanent  pastures.  There  are  various  sorts  of  grass  lands  that  ought 
not  to  be  broken  up,  as  water  meadows,  salt  marshes,  lands  apt  to  be  overflow- 
ed, lands  near  large  populous  towns,  where  the  produce  of  grass  land  is  always 
in  demand,  and  consequently  dear — and  low  lying  tracts,  in  the  valleys  of 
mountainous  countries,  (particularly  in  chalky  districts,)  where  old  meadow 
land  is  scarce,  and  where  a  portion  of  it,  to  raise  early  and  late  food  for  stock, 
gives  a  great  additional  value  to  the  adjoining  upland.  But  whether  land  that 
has  long  rerriained  in  a  state  of  turf,  and  continues  productive,  should  be  con- 
verted into  tillage,  is  a  question  respecting  which  a  great  diversity  of  opinion 
has  been  entertained. 

It  is  proper  here  to  give  a  concise  description  of  the  nature  and  quality  of 
the  several  sorts  of  land  usually  retained  in  the  state  of  permanent  pasture,  the 
conversion  of  which  into  tillage  has  been  so  much  deprecated;  and  also  a  short 
statement  of  the  advantages  which  such  lands  are  considered  to  possess. 

The  lands  which  are  accounted  to  be  the  best  adapted  for  permanent  pas- 
ture are  of  three  kinds:  1.  Strong  tenacious  clays,  unfit  for  turnips  or  barley, 
which  are  said  to  improve  the  more  the  longer  they  are  kept  under  a  judicious 
system  in  grass.*  2.  Soft  clayey  loams,  with  a  clayey  or  marly  bottom  or  sub- 
stratum; and,  3.  Rich,  sound,  deep-soiled  land,  or  vale  land,  enriched  by  na- 
ture at  the  expense  of  the  higher  grounds,generally  lying  in  a  situation  fa- 
vourable with  respect  to  climate. 

The  advantages  of  such  pastures  have  been  represented  in  the  strongest  light. 
It  is  afllrmed  that  they  feed  cattle  to  a  greater  weight;  that  they  are  not  so  easily 
scorched  by  the  summer's  drought;  that  the  grasses  are  more  nutritive  both 
for  sheep  and  cattle;  that  milch  cows  fed  upon  them  give  richer  milk,  and 
more  butter  and  cheese;  that  the  hoofs  of  all  animals  feeding  upon  them  are 
much  better  preserved;  that  thej-  produce  a  greater  variety  of  grasses;  that 
when  properly  laid  down,  they  yield  a  succession  of  pasture  throughout  the 
whole  season;  that  the  herbage  is  sweeter,  and  more  easily  digested;  and  that 
they  return  an  immense  produce  at  a  trifling  expense. 

To  break  up  lands  possessing  these  advantages,  it  is  said,  nothing  can  jus- 
tify but  the  most  urgent  nece.ssity,  and  to  prevent  the  horrors  of  famine. 

The  real  value  of  such  lands  will  appear  by  considering  their  rent  and  pro- 
duce. 

The  grass  lands  in  Lincolnshire  are  accounted  the  richest  in  the  kingdom. 
The  rents  are  various,  from  \l.  15s.  to  3L  per  acre,  and  the  value  of  the  pro- 
duce from  3Z.  per  acre,  to  lOZ.  8s.  From  an  average  estimate,  referring  to  se- 
veral farms,  it  is  proved  that  a  rent  of  14Z.  &s.  per  annum,  gives  a  produce  of 
38/.  19s.  M.,  and  that  for  every  20s.  of  produce,  the  landlord  takes  7s.  Id.  in  rent. 
The  highest  produce  per  acre  arising  from  beef,  mutton,  and  wool,  is  at  the 
rate  of  \0l.  8s.,  and  is  obtained,  subject  to  little  variation  from  the  nature  of  the 
seasons,  and  at  a  trifling  expense. 


*  This  assertion  is  thus  explained.  In  the  course  of  years,  on  the  surface  of 
such  a  soil,  there  is  formed  a  rich,  light,  black  mould,  two  or  three  inches  in 
thickness,  which  is  the  matrix  of  these  rich  grasses.  When  the  soil  is  ploughed 
up,  this  valuable  surface  is  mingled  with  the  colder  and  less  fertile  strata  below, 
and  cannot  be  renewed  for  many  years.  Young's  Essay,  Communications  vol. 
iii.  p.  191.  It  is  contended,  on  the  other  hand,  that  strong  clays  do  not  improve 
when  first  sown  down  with  grass;  and  that  by  repeated  trials,  it  has  been  com- 
pletely ascertained,  that  such  soils  will  yield  as  much  grass  the  first  year  after 
they  are  sown  as  in  the  two  following  years.  Hence,  instead  of  keeping  them 
in  grass,  it  is  desirable  to  break  them  up  often,  and  to  stock  them  with  fresh 
plants.  Communication  of  Robert  Brown,  Esq.,  of  Markle.  But  if  a  rich  sur- 
face has  been  got,  should  it  be  destroyed? 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.        255 

The  stock  maintained  per  acre  on  the  best  grazing  lands,  surpasses  what 
could  be  fed  by  any  arable  produce.  It  is  not  at  all  uncommon  to  feed,  at  the 
rate  of  from  six  to  seven  sheep  (24  pounds  a  quarter)  in  summer;  and  about 
two  sheep  in  winter.  Thus  a  considerable  quantity  of  meat  will  be  produced, 
besides  above  forty  pounds  of  wool.  Such  lands,  it  is  evident,  cannot  be  better 
employed  than  in  feeding  stock. 

Grass  lands  of  the  first  and  second  kinds,  the  tenacious  clays  and  heavy  loams, 
when  brought,  in  a  succession  of  years,  or  perhaps  of  ages,  into  a  state  of  great 
■productiveness,  cannot  be  ploughed,  without  the  risk  of  great  injury,  and  are 
more  profitable  in  the  productions  of  herbage,  than  they  could  be  in  the  pro- 
duction of  grain. 

Lands  of  the  third  kind,  or  the  deep-soiled  vale  lands,  would  be  productive  of 
grain  if  ploughed;  but  would  probably  be  injured  by  cultivation;  from  their 
texture  being  altered  and  rendered  unduly  loose  and  open  by  tillage;  from  the 
native  plants  being  more  or  less  destroyed  or  enfeebled;  and  from  the  great 
decomposition,  and  waste  of  the  principles  of  fertility  resident  in  the  soil. 

The  extent  of  these  three  descriptions  of  lands,  however,  is  not  so  great  that 
the  advantages  of  breaking  them  up  could  probably  ever  be  a  national  object, 
or  worth  the  risk  of  injuring  their  future  productiveness  in  grass.  But  there 
are  grazing  lands  of  an  inferior  sort,  which  are  too  apt  to  be  confounded  with 
those  already  described,  and  respecting  the  propriety  of  occasionally  appro- 
priating them  to  arable  culture,  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt.  Such  lands  do 
not  depend  upon  their  intrinsic  fertility,  but  upon  annual  supplies  of  manure, 
derived  from  the  arable  land  in  their  neighbourhood. 

The  question  then,  is,  whether  it  is  most  for  the  advantage  of  the  parties 
interested,  that  one-half  of  a  farm  should  be  in  perpetual  grass,  and  the  other 
half  in  perpetual  cultivation;  or  the  whole  alternately,  under  grass  and  grain, 
and  subject  to  convertible  husbandry,  with  the  exception  of  the  rich  grazing 
lands  abo\'e  described. 

The  objections  to  the  division  of  a  farm,  orve-haX^  m\.o  permanent  grass,  and 
the  other  \\?i\i  inio permanent  tillage,  are  not  to  be  surmounted.  The  arable  is 
deteriorated  by  the  abstraction  of  the  manure  it  produced,  if  applied  to  enrich 
the  grass,  while  the  greater  part  of  the  manure  thus  employed  is  wasted:  for 
spreading  putrescent  substances  upon  the  surface  of  a  field  is  to  manure  not 
the  soil,  but  the  atmosphere,  and  is  justly  condemned  as  the  most  injurious  plan 
that  can  be  devised  in  an  arable  district.  The  miserable  crops  of  grain  pro- 
duced where  this  system  prev^ails,  sufliciently  prove  its  mischievous  conse- 
quences. 

So  injurious  is  this  mode  of  management,  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  most 
intelligent  farmers,  the  landlord  loses  one-fourth  of  the  rent  he  might  other- 
wise have  got  for  every  acre  thus  debarred  from  cultivation;  while  the  public 
loses  three  and  three  quarter  bushels  of  grain  for  every  fourteen  pounds  of  beef 
or  mutton  thereby  obtained. 

This  is  a  point  that  cannot  be  too  much  inculcated  in  a  country  increasing 
in  population,  and  which  finds  so  much  difiiculty  in  maintaining  its  inhabitants. 
For  with  the  exception  of  rich  pastures,  arable  land  is  on  an  average  superior 
to  grassland,  with  respect  to  furnishing  articles  of  human  food,  in  the  propor- 
tion of  three  to  one;  and  consequently  every  piece  of  land  unnecessarily  kept 
in  grass,  the  produce  of  which  will  only  maintain  one  person,  is  depriving  the 
community  of  food  capable  of  sustaining  two  others  of  its  members. 

Landlords  in  many  parts  of  England  are  apt  to  be  apprehensive,  (and  often 
with  too  much  reason,)  that  their  property  may  suffer  from  a  change  of  system; 
and  it  is  much  to  be  lamented,  that  the  law  in  England  affords  them  very  inade- 
quate protection  against  bad  tenants.  Were  it  not  for  this  circumstance,  the 
interests  of  the  landlord  might  be  guarded  against  injury  by  judicious  cove- 
nants, and  by  prescribing  an  improved  mode  of  management.  A  regular  sys- 
tem of  convertible  husbandry  might  thus  be  established,  while  the  value  of 
landed  property  would  not  only  be  greatly  augmented,  but  the  true  interests  of 
the  country  be  most  essentially  promoted. 

The  principal  objection  to  the  conversion  of  meadow  into  arable  land,  arises 
from  an  alleged  inferiority  in  the  new  when  compared  to  the  old  herbage — a 
complaint  which  probably  originates  either  from  the  improper  choice  of  seeds, 


256  MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

or  from  giving  them  in  too  small  quantities — thus  favouring  the  growth  of 
weeds.  A  gentleman  who  had  a  large  farm,  principally  consisting  of  strong  rich 
clay,  (every  field  of  which,  with  hardly  an  exception,  he  occasionally  broke 
up,)  was  accustomed  to  lay  them  down  with  a  crop  of  barley,  and  to  sow  four- 
teen pounds  of  white  clover,  a  peck  of  rib-grass,  and  three  quarters  of  hay- 
seeds per  acre.  By  this  liberal  allowance  of  seed,  he  always  secured  a  thick 
coat  of  herbage  the  first  year,  which  differed  from  old  pasture — only  in  being 
more  luxuriant.  Such  lands,  therefore,  under  judicious  management,  will 
rarely  be  injured  by  the  plough.  When  laid  down  from  tillage  into  grass,  they 
may  not  carry,  for  the  first  year  or  two,  such  heavy  cattle  as  they  would  after- 
wards, but  it  will  support  more  in  nwnber,  though  of  a  smaller  size,  and  bring 
a  greater  weight  of  butcher  meat  to  market. 

It  is  often  desirable  to  keep  one  or  two  moderate  sized  inclosures  of  from 
ten  to  twenty  acres,  according  to  the  size  of  the  farm,  in  perennial  pasture  for 
the  feeding  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  as  a  resource  for  the  stock  to  go  to,  in  case 
of  a  severe  spring  or  summer  drought;  but  the  retaining  of  any  considerable 
portion  of  a  farm  in  old  turf  or  permanent  pasture,  unless  of  the  richest  quality, 
is,  in  general,  injurious  to  the  proprietor,  the  tenant  and  the  public.  The  value 
of  any  estate,  where  the  system  of  permanent  pasture  has  been  carried  to  an 
unreasonable  extent,  may  be  easily  and  greatly  augmented  by  appropriating 
the  manure  of  the  farm  to  turnips,  beets,  and  other  green  crops,  and  by  the 
adoption  of  the  convertible  system  of  husbandry. 

There  are  cases,  however,  where  this  doctrine,  though  in  general  to  be  re- 
commended, ought  not  to  be  carried  to  an  extreme.  It  is  remarked,  where  the 
land  is  commonly  light,  and  where  sheep  are  both  bred  and/ed  upon  the  same 
farm,  a  proportion  of  permanent  pasture  is  essential.  Much  injury  in  particu- 
lar has  been  sustained  by  breaking  up  permanent  pastures  on  such  soils.  A 
farm  in  general  lets  best  with  a  fair  proportion  of  grass  land  upon  it,  which 
admits  of  a  mixed  management,  in  consequence  of  which,  if  one  object  fails, 
another  may  be  successful. 

According  to  the  improved  system  of  laying  down  lands  to 
grass,  the  land  ought  to  be  made  previously  as  clean  and  fertile 
as  possible.  Therefore  all  the  green  crops  raised  ought  to  be 
consumed  upon  the  ground — fallow  or  fallow  crops  ought  not 
to  be  neglected,  and  the  whole  straw  of  the  grain  crops  should 
be  converted  into  manure  and  applied  to  the  soil  that  produced 
it.  Above  all,  the  mixing  of  calcareous  matter  with  the  soil, 
either  previously  to,  or  during  the  course  of  cropping,  is  essen- 
tial. Nothing,  in  general,  improves  meadows  or  pastures  more 
than  lime  or  marl.  They  sweeten  the  herbage,  render  it  more 
palatable  to  stock,  and  impart  to  it  more  nourishing  qualities. 


In  the  second  season  of  the  grasses — and  there  is  no  period 
in  their  growth  when  they  will  afford  so  early  and  rich  an 
herbage  as  in  this — the  second  year  after  they  are  sown,  or 
when,  in  the  language  of  farmers,  they  are  one  year's  old  grass, 
the  plants  may  be  consumed  in  either  of  the  three  ways  already 
mentioned: — 1.  They  may  be  made  into  hay  and  the  after- 
math depastured.  2.  They  may  be  mown  at  intervals  during 
the  season  for  green  forage  or  soiling,  and  the  aftermath  de- 
pastured; or,  3.  They  may  be  depastured  with  live  stock. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.  257 

I.    HAY-MAKING. 

The  making  of  hay  in  a  proper  manner,  is  a  very  nice  pro- 
cess; none  more  so  perhaps  in  the  whole  economy  of  the  farm. 
Much  depends  upon  the  jjeriod  o(  cutting;  it  must,  however, 
be  determined  by  the  growth  of  the  plants.  But  it  is  a  com- 
mon error  to  allow  them  to  stand  too  long.  They  ought  to  be 
cut  before  their  seeds  are  fully  formed,  that  the  rich  and  nutri- 
tious juices  they  contain  may  be  to  as  great  an  extent  as  possi- 
ble retained  in  the  hay.  When  the  stems  become  hard  and 
sapless,  by  being  allowed  to  bring  their  seeds  towards  maturity, 
they  are  of  little  more  value,  as  provender,  than  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  the  finer  sort  of  the  straw  of  grain.* 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  injurious  to  grass  crops  to 
cut  them  too  early,  as  the  sap  not  having  properly  circulated 
throughout  the  blade,  the  grass,  when  converted  into  hay, 
shrinks,  and  is  materially  reduced  in  point  of  quantity.  The 
best  time  for  mowing  valley  or  intervale  meadows,  is  when  the 
grass  is  in  full  blossom;  with  respect  to  upland  and  other  grass 
grounds,  when  the  tops  of  the  grass  appear  brown  it  may  be 
considered  as  in  a  proper  state  for  cutting.  But  Professor 
Low,  in  referring  to  the  subject,  and  speaking  of  the  grasses 
collectively,  says,  when  the  plants  are  in  full  flower,  but  before 
the  seeds  are  ripe,  or  even  before  the  flowers  of  the  clovers 
have  begun  in  any  degree  to  fade,  the  crop  is  to  be  mown. 

Another  criterion  for  directing  the  farmer's  attention  to  this 
business,  where  the  grass  is  very  thickly  spread  over  the  field, 
is  afforded  by  the  yellow  hue  which  the  bottom  parts  of  the 
blades  assume  before  the  grass  comes  into  full  flower.  In  this 
case  also,  it  will  be  necessary,  as  speedily  as  may  be  practica- 
ble, to  mow  the  grass,  which  will  otherwise  be  liable  to  rot, 
or  at  least  to  acquire  an  unpleasant  flavour,  that  will  conse- 
quently diminish  its  value. t  The  quantity  of  the  produce  may 
be  increased  by  permitting  the  grass  to  ripen  its  seeds  before 
it  is  cut,  yet  the  value  of  the  aftermath  will  be  generally 
injured  in  a  greater  proportion  than  the  increased  quantity 
thus  gained;  besides  the  impoverishing  effects  of  the  plants  on 
the  soil,  and  the  less  palatable  quality  of  the  hay. 

In  7nowing,  the  plants,  by  the  action  of  the  scythe  or  the 
improved  mowing  machine,^  are  laid  in  swarths,  with  their 
heads  lying  pretty  regularly  in  one  direction.  The  swarths 
lie  for  a  short  time  to  wither,  and  are  then  turned  gently  over 

*  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  art.  K^. 

+  See  Sinclair's  Hortus  Gram.  Wobarn.,  3J  8\'o.  ed.  p.  214. 

X  NCPEV. 


258        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

by  a  fork  or  the  handle  of  the  hay-rake,  but  in  such  a  manner 
that  they  shall  not  be  broken  or  spread  abroad.  After  remain- 
ing in  this  situation,  say  twenty-four  hours,  or  more,  if  neces- 
sary, they  may  be  put  into  small  heaps  or  cocks  on  every  third 
or  fifth  ridge,  according  to  the  bulk  of  the  crop,  the  ground 
being  at  the  same  time  very  carefully  raked.  In  mowing,  one 
of  the  first  principles  of  economy  is  to  keep  the  scythe  con- 
stantly sharp,  and  perfectly  fast  on  the  snath,  for  the  least 
looseness  here  increases  the  labour  to  an  oppressive  degree. 
Grass  should  be  cut  as  close  to  the  ground  as  possible,  as  an 
inch  at  bottom  will  yield  more  good  hay  than  several  inches  at 
top.  Hence  the  importance  of  smooth  meadows.  Lads  and 
young  mowers  should  not  work  in  company  with  experienced 
workmen.* 

When  the  swarth,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  is  thorough- 
ly dry  above,  it  is  to  be  very  gently  and  carefully  turned  over, 
(not  tedded  or  scattered  after  the  old  but  very  erroneous  sys- 
tem,) without  breaking  it.  The  implements  used  for  this  pur- 
pose are  described  in  the  preceding  paragraph;  but  some  far- 
mers are  so  anxious  to  prevent  the  swarth  from  being  broken, 
that  they  will  not  permit  the  use  of  the  rake-shaft.  The  more 
the  swarth  is  kept  unbroken,  the  hay  is  the  greener  and  the 
more  fragrant. 

It  is  good  practice  to  put  up  the  hay  green  in  these  first 
cocks,  and  then  to  enlarge  them  by  adding  two  together.  If 
at  this  early  stage  they  undergo  a  degree  of  incipient  fermenta- 
tion, it  will  do  no  harm,  as  it  is  in  the  latter  stage  of  the  pro- 
cess that  heating  or  fermentation  becomes  hurtful.  When  the 
hay  has  become  dry  in  the  cocks,  the  period  of  which  will  de- 
pend upon  the  weather,  they  are  made  into  ricks  in  the  fields. 
The  cocks  are  dragged  together  by  a  horse  with  a  rope,  one 
end  of  which  is  attached  to  one  of  his  traces,  and  the  rope 
being  brought  round  the  base  of  the  cock,  the  end  thereof  is 
fastened  to  the  other  trace,  by  which  means  the  removal  of  the 
cocks  is  very  easily  accomplished. 

*  Genesee  Farmer,  vol.  v.  p.  210,  where  we  find  it  stated,  by  the  intelligent 
editor,  that  experience  and  attentive  observation,  shew  that  hay  is  best  when 
cut  laU.  Some  kinds  of  hay,  more  especially  clover,  may  be  partial  excep- 
tions. Laic  cuUi7ig possesses  several  advantages.  The  hay  is  found  to  contain 
a  greater  quantity  of  effective  nutriment,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  cattle 
keep  in  better  condition  when  fed  upon  it.  It  is  also  much  more  palatable, 
and  is  eaten  with  greater  avidity  by  cattle  and  horses.  In  addition  to  this,  it 
is  much  more  easily  made,  requiring  far  less  drying,  and  thus  greatly  di- 
minishing both  labour  and  care  in  the  process.  Nor  is  this  all.  The  effect 
upon  the  roots,  which  are  to  produce  the  succeeding  crop,  is  by  no  means  to  be 
overlooked.  Many  plants  are  destroyed  by  cutting  off  or  moving  them  while 
in  flower,  which  would  be  little  injured  if'the  operation  were  deferred  till  the 
seed  is  ripe. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.        259 

These  ricks  are  made  by  a  person  standing  upon  them  to 
build  and  compress  them.  They  are  formed  with  a  conical 
top,  and  are  each  bound  down  with  a  rope  made  of  the  hay 
itself  In  this  state,  if  properly  made,  they  will  resist  a  con- 
siderable fall  of  rain;  but,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  hay 
is  not  to  be  suffered  to  remain  longer  in  the  ricks  than  is  ne- 
cessary to  dry  it  in  a  sufficient  degree  to  fit  it  for  storing  in  the 
barn  or  in  larger  stacks.  This  is  the  English  practice,  and 
prevails  in  some  parts  of  our  country.* 

When  hay  is  put  into  stacks,  as  is  very  frequently  the  case, 
the  greatest  care  and  nicety  is  to  be  observed  in  their  con- 
struction; the  stacks  should  be  well  thatched  with  straw,  and 
present  a  neat  and  workmanlike  appearance.  But  hay,  when 
placed  in  large  masses,  will  generally  undergo  a  slight  degree 
of  heat.  In  the  case  of  the  clovers  and  grasses,  the  slighter  the 
better;  and  hence  the  necessity  of  a  previous  preparation  of 
the  material  as  careful  as  the  state  of  the  weather  will  allow.f 

Great  difficulty  is  often  experienced  in  the  processes  of  the 
hay-harvest  by  the  wetness  of  the  weather.  In  such  cases  the 
farmer  is  obliged  to  watch  the  favourable  intervals,  and  employ 
every  practicable  means  to  forward  the  operations  and  secure 
the  crop.  Some  persons  recommend  the  strewing  of  salt  upon 
the  hay,  as  the  building  of  the  stack  proceeds.  This  is  a  good 
practice,  as  it  corrects  the  tendency  to  fermentation,  and  ren- 
ders injured  hay  palatable  to  stock. 

In  the  making  of  hay,  the  great  end  to  be  aimed  at  is  to 
prepare  it  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  with  as  little  exposure  to 
the  weather,  and  as  little  waste  of  the  natural  juices  as  circum- 
stances will  allow.  When  we  are  enabled  to  do  this,  the  hay 
will  be  sweet,  fragrant,  and  of  a  greenish  colour. 

The  common  method  of  curing  clover  hay  is  bad.  The  object  to  be  obtained 
is  to  cure  the  hay  in  the  cheapest  a.u&  best  manner.  The  practice  [heretofore 
generally  followed]  of  spreading  from  the  swarth,  causes  the  leaves  and  blos- 
soms to  dry  and  crumble  before  the  stems  are  sufficiently  cured,  by  which 
means  the  finer  parts  of  the  hay  are  lost,  or  the  crop  is  housed  with  so  much 
moisture,  as  to  cause  it  to  heat  and  often  to  spoil.  Clover  should  only  be 
spread  when  it  has  become  wet  in  the  swarth,  and  should  be  gathered  again 
before  the  leaves  dry  and  crumble.  Both  these  evils  may  be  avoided  and 
labour  saved  withal,  by  curing  the  grass  wholly  in  swarth  and  cock.  After 
experiencing  the  serious  disadvantages  of  the  old  method,  I  adopted  that  I 
am  about  to  recommend,  and  have  pursued  it  satisfactorily  for  fifteen  years. — 
Judge  BuEL. 

My  practice  has  been,  to  leave  the  clover  to  wither  in  the  swarth,  and  when 
partially  dried,  either  to  turn  the  swarths,  or  to  make  grass  cocks  the  same 
day,  so  as  to  secure  the  dried  portions  from  the  dew.  That  which  is  not  put 
into  cocks  the  first  day,  is  thus  secured  the  second  day,  or  as  soon  as  it  has  be- 
come partially  dried.  These  grass  cocks  are  permitted  to  stand  one,  two  or 
three  days,  according  as  the  weather  is,  and  as  the  curing  process  has  pro- 


*  Professor  Low's  Elements,  p.  454.  t  Ibid. 


260        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

gressed,  when  they  are  opened  at  nine  or  ten  o'clock  on  a  fair  day,  the  hay 
turned  over  between  eleven  and  three,  and  soon  after  turning  gathered  again 
for  the  cart.  Thus  cured,  the  hay  is  perfectly  bright  and  sweet,  and  hardly  a 
blossom  or  leaf  wasted.  Care  is  required  in  making  the  cocks.  The  grass  is 
collected  with  forks  and  placed  on  dry  ground,  between  the  swarths,  in  as 
small  a  compass  as  convenient  at  the  base,  say  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter, 
and  rising  in  a  cone  to  the  height  of  four  or  fiVe  feet.— 76. 

The  advantages  of  this  mode  of  curing  clover  are: — I.  The  labour  of 
spreading  from  the  swarth  is  saved.  2.  The  labour  of  the  hand-rake  is 
abridged,  or  may  be  wholly  dispensed  with,  if  the  horse-rake  is  used  to  glean 
the  field  when  the  hay  is  taken  off;  the  forks  sufficing  to  collect  it  tolerably 
clean  in  the  cocking  process.  3.  It  prevents,  in  a  great  measure,  injury  from 
dew  and  rain;  for  these  cocks,  if  rightly  constructed,  (not  by  rolling,)  will  sus- 
tain a  rain  of  some  days — that  is,  they  have  done  so  with  me — without  heating 
or  becoming  more  than  superficially  wet.  4.  Clover  hay  made  in  this  waj-^ 
may  almost  invariably  be  housed  in  good  condition;  and  if  rain  falls  after  the 
grass  is  mown,  the  quality  of  the  hay  is  infinitely  superior  to  what  it  would  be 
under  the  old  process  of  curing. — lb. 

The  rationale  is  this.  The  outside  of  the  clover  parts  with  much  of  its 
moisture  while  in  swarth;  and  what  is  called  the  sweating,  in  cock,  is  merely 
the  passage  of  moisture  remaining  in  the  succulent  stocks,  to  their  exterior, 
and  to  their  leaves  and  blossoms — it  is  a  diffusion — an  equalization  of  the  re- 
maining moisture  in  the  cock.  When  this  has  taken  place,  evaporation  is 
greatly  facilitated,  and  the  whole  mass  acquires  a  uniform  dryness,  on  open- 
ing the  cocks  to  the  influence  of  the  sun  and  winds,  if  too  long  an  exposure  is 
guarded  against.  Evaporation  progresses  in  the  cocks,  after  the  hay  is  gather- 
ed for  the  cart,  and  during  the  operation  of  loading  and  unloading. — lb. 

The  late  John  Lorain,  a  philosopher  and  a  practical  farmer, 
after  stating  the  advantages  he  had  observed  arising  from  the 
practice  of  curing  hay  in  the  swarth,  namely,  a  saving  of  labour; 
that  the  grasses  are  turned  at  all  titnes  very  expeditiously;  that 
by  turning  the  swarths  throughout  long  continued  rains,  so 
long  as  the  undersides  of  them  were  likely  to  be  injured  by 
fermentation,  he  had  saved  extensive  fields  of  hay,  while  his 
neighbours,  who  gave  no  attention  to  this  interesting  subject, 
had  their  crops  entirely  ruined.  After  stating  these  advan- 
tages— advantages  in  which  he  had  personally  participated — 
he  says  in  the  very  next  paragraph,  that  '■'-curing  hay  in 
swarth,  to  save  the  juices,  seeins  to  be  not  only  practically 
ivrong,  but  also  opposed  to  reason.^' 

Salt  hay  in  this  country  has  usually  been  burnt  by  lying 
too  long  in  the  swarths.  The  method  in  which  I  have  treated 
it  for  several  years,  is  to  cock  it  the  day  after  it  is  cut,  and 
carry  it  in,  without  delaying  more  than  one  day,  and  put  a 
layer  of  some  kind  of  dry  straw  between  load  and  load  of  it  in 
the  mow,  to  prevent  it  taking  damage  by  over-heating.  The 
straw  contracts  or  imbibes  so  much  of  its  moisture  and  salt- 
ness,  that  the  cattle  will  eat  it  very  freely;  and  the  hay  is  far 
better  than  that  made  in  the  common  way.* 

*  Dean's  New  England  Farmer. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.  261 


ir.    SOILING. 

No  question  is  now  entertained  as  to  the  great  utility  and 
consequent  advantages  arising  from  the  soih'ng  of  cattle,  when 
reduced  to  a  correct  system  and  conducted  on  judicious  princi- 
ples. One  reason  why  the  practice  of  soiling  is  not  more 
generallj'^adopted  in  this  country  at  the  present  time,  may  be 
owing  in  a  great  measure  to  the  warm  recommendations  of  its 
friends  some  thirty  years  since,  who  urged  it  upon  farmers  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  before  sufficient  experiments  had  been 
carefully  made  to  determine  the  best  methods,  and  the  kinds 
of  grasses  most  suitable  to  the  object.  In  consequence,  the 
well-meant  efforts  of  its  advocates  and  friends  were  frustrated, 
for  a  season,  and  the  system  abandoned  by  most,  if  not  all,  of 
those  who  had  entered  upon  it. 

But  its  failure  at  that  early  day,  must  not  be  attributed 
wholly  to  the  cause  assigned  above.  There  were  other  and 
powerful  counteracting  influences.  The  great  mass  of  the 
community  opposed,  and  that  most  strenuously,  the  introduc- 
tion of  improvements,  however  important  and  beneficial,  as 
innovations  on  the  old  established  system  (such  as  it  was)  of 
farming;  and  their  prejudices,  according  to  Lorain,  were  too 
deeply  rooted  in  favour  of  perpetual  meadows  or  grass  grounds, 
so  much  so  as  to  prevent  impartial  reasoning  on  this  or  any 
other  subject. 

Whether,  in  any  case,  a  field  of  young  grass  shall  be  applied 
to  herbage  or  forage,  is  dependent  wholly  on  considerations  of 
expediency  and  profit.  If  there  be  stock  upon  a  farm  re- 
quiring good  and  early  grass,  it  may  be  most  advantageous  to 
use  the  new  grass  for  herbage — in  certain  cases  it  may  be  more 
advantageous  to  employ  it  in  soiling — in  others,  to  convert  it 
into  hay.  In  the  practice  of  the  farm  a  portion  of  it  may  be 
advantageously  applied  to  all  these  purposes. 

When  the  grasses,  clovers,  or  other  forage  plants  are  to  be 
used  for  soiling,  they  are  to  be  cut  with  a  scythe,  and  carried 
directly  to  the  place  of  feeding,  and  placed  carefully  in  a  crib 
or  rack — the  animals  being  at  the  same  time  well  littered  with 
straw.  The  latter  is  not  only  an  important,  but  an  indispen- 
sable requisite  to  the  success  of  the  system. 

The  system  of  soiling  was  derived  originally  from  the 
Netherlands.  It  is  a  very  old,  though  by  no  means  a  universal 
practice.  We  find  it  mentioned  so  long  back  as  the  year  1650, 
in  a  Treatise  on  Agriculture,  entitled  "IIa7't lib's  Legaci/," 
p.  245,  and  in  all  thickly  settled  parts  of  the  continent  it  is 
now  coming  into  extensive  practice.     As  a  country  becomes 


262        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

populous,  well  cultivated  and  rich,  soiling  is  the  mode  of  feed- 
ing cattle,  which  must  ultimately  prevail.  On  this  principle 
it  is,  that  we  find  it  practiced  in  the  vicinity  of  cities  and  large 
towns.  But  although  it  is  the  most  profitable  system  of  feed- 
ing where  it  can  be  adopted,  yet,  as  was  remarked  in  the  article 
on  the  Management  of  Grass  Lands,  it  is  in  some  cases  not 
practicable,  and  in  others  not  expedient. 

Professor  Low  says,  that  the  cases  in  which  it  is  not  practi- 
cable, are  when  the  land  does  not  possess  a  sufficient  degree  of 
natural  or  acquired  fertility  to  produce  good  and  early  crops 
of  grass;  or  when  a  sufficiency  of  straw  to  keep  the  animals 
dry  and  well  littered  during  the  period  of  feeding  cannot  be 
obtained.  The  cases  in  which  soiling  is  not  expedient,  al- 
though practicable,  are,  when  the  animals  to  be  fed  require 
exercise  to  keep  them  in  health  and  in  a  growing  state.  Some 
say  that  the  practice  is  unnatural — that  animals  reared  on  this 
system  are  deprived  of  air  and  exercise,  and  the  selection  of 
their  food;  and  in  the  experience  of  some  farmers,  cattle  thrive 
much  better  in  the  fields  or  open  air,  than  when  housed.*  But 
the  principal  objection  is  easily  obviated  by  allowing  sufficient 
yard  room  for  exercise,  air,  &c. 

On  the  other  hand  the  advocates  of  the  soiling  system  say — 
That  it  is  a  considerable  saving  of  land;  that  is,  one  acre  of 
cut  grass  soiled  being  equal  to  three  acres  of  the  same  field 
pastured.  The  grasses  grow  much  more  rapidly  in  consequence 
of  not  being  trampled  upon.  It  is  a  gi^eat  saving  of  food,  for 
when,  say  the  compilers  of  the  Complete  Grazier,  "animals  are 
sufiered  to  go  upon  the  field,  many  plants  are  necessarily 
trodden  under  foot  and  bruised,  or  partly  buried  in  the  earth, 
in  which  state  they  are  greatly  disrelished  by  cattle,  and  are 
suffisred  to  run  to  waste;  a  circumstance  which  never  could 
occur,  if  the  practice  of  cutting  were  adopted."  If  the  con- 
sumption of  plants  is  an  object,  that  object  is  obtained  by  soil- 
ing, for  all  who  have  paid  attention  to  the  subject  must  have 
observed  that  cattle  will  readily  eat  plants  cut,  and  given  to 
them  when  housed,  which  they  would  discard  in  the  pasture; 
yet,  according  to  the  authority  above  quoted,  it  is  known  that 
they  will  eat  food,  when  thrown  to  them  on  the  ground,  which 

*  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  cattle  that  have  been  accustomed  to  run  at 
large  and  select  their  own  food,  should  for  a  time  refuse  to  eat  the  best  grass, 
when  cut  and  given  to  them  in  the  shed  or  yard,  when  first  put  up.  Neither  is 
it  surprising  that  some  will  not  fatten  at  all  under  such  circumstances.  Mr. 
Lorain  says  the  cause  is  evident:  "The  previous  habit  of  the  animal  is  entirely 
opposed  to  the  sudden  change — from  being  accustomed  to  run  at  large  and 
gather  such  plants,  or  such  pans  of  them,  as  are  most  agreeable  to  its  taste. 
Experience  also  teaches  us,  that  men,  as  well  as  the  inferior  animals,  when 
deprived  of  that  portion  of  liberty  to  which  they  have  been  accustomed,  repine, 
and,  in  some  instances,  actually  die  from  this  cause  alone." — Page  311. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.        263 

lliey  will  reject  when  given  in  the  stall.  Many  of  the  grasses 
which  are  sweet  and  succulent  when  young,  and  which  cattle 
eat  with  the  greatest  avidity,  are  quite  offensive  when  suffered 
to  get  into  ear,  and  are  thereby  lost;  but  by  this"  system  of 
cutting,  no  loss  can  occur  from  this  quarter.  Plants  rejected 
by  one  class  of  animals,  when  presented  to  them,  even  when 
housed,  are  not  on  that  account  less  acceptable  to  others;  in- 
deed they  appear  to  be  eaten  with  greater  avidity.  "Thus 
grass,  or  other  food,  that  has  been  blown  or  breathed  upon  by 
any  animal  for  a  considerable  time,  becomes  unpleasant  to 
other  beasts  of  the  same  species,  but  not  so  to  stock  of  another 
class  or  variety;  for  them,  indeed,  it  appears  to  acquire  a 
higher  relish." 

It  is  contended  by  the  friends  of  the  cutting  system  that  the 
balance,  so  far  as  regards  the  health  and  comfort  of  cattle,  is 
decidedly  in  its  favour  over  that  of  pasturing. — Cattle  are  not 
only  less  liable  to  accidents,  but  do  not  suffer  the  same  incon- 
veniences or  annoyances  to  which  they  are  subject  when  ex- 
posed to  the  sun  in  the  open  air — they  suffer  much  less  from 
heat,  flies,  &c.,  and  it  is  perfectly  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
they  take  on  flesh  more  readily.  Tranquillity  and  ease  are 
essential,  otherwise  animals  cannot  thrive.  An  instance  in 
point  has  been  cited,  from  which  it  appears  that  animals  housed 
foi'  fattening,  and  well  fed,  did  not  take  on  fat,  owing  to  the 
circumstance  of  their  becoming  lousy,  in  consequence  of  fowls 
roosting  over  them.  The  reason  why  they  did  not  thrive  is 
obvious — when  cleansed  of  the  vermin  they  fattened  well. 
Pleat,  restlessness,  the  terrible  annoyance  of  flies,  &c.,  when 
cattle  are  exposed,  as  they  must  frequently  be  in  pastures, 
operate  against  them. 

It  is  asserted  that  the  proportioned  increase  of  manure  ob- 
tained by  soiling  and  stall  feeding  abundantly  evince  their 
superiority  over  pasturing.  "Manure  is  the  life  and  soul  of 
husbandry;  and  when  tillage  is  an  object  of  attention,  there 
can  be  no  comparison  between  the  two  modes  of  consumption, 
especially  in  regard  to  manure  obtained  by  soiling  live  stock 
during  summer  with  green  food,  for  in  consequence  of  the  in- 
creased discharge  of  urine  during  that  season,  the  litter,  of 
whatever  substance  it  may  consist,  is  speedily  converted  into 
dung." 

The  late  Mr.  Lorain  after  many  years  experience,  recom- 
mends this  system  of  management  in  the  highest  terms.  He 
was,  in  connection  with  the  late  Judge  Peters,  an  early  and 
ardent  advocate  of  the  convertible  system  of  husbandry,  and 
was  of  opinion  that,  by  the  addition  of  soiling  to  that  system, 
the  practice  of  agriculture  would  be  as  perfect  as  our  present 


264  MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

knowledge  of  that  art,  and  the  instruments  best  calculated  to 
effect  the  labour,  would  admit.  Mr.  Lorain's  high  estimate 
of  the  soiling  system,  as  we  have  observed,  was  the  result  of 
years  of  experience,  and  the  most  careful  investigation.  The 
following  is  the  substance  of  his  opinion: 

Soiling  will  not  only  save  much  more  than  half  the  grass 
necessary  for  pasturing  the  stock,  but  it  will  also  introduce  a 
great  additional  quantity  of  manure.  The  manure  thus  ob- 
tained is  not  only  greater  in  quantity,  but  much  superior  in 
quality,  is  secured  from  injury  and  applied  in  that  manner 
deemed  most  beneficial  to  the  farm.  When  soiling  is  practiced 
the  grounds  are  not  hard  trod,  and  sunk  into  holes  by  the  feet 
of  cattle.  The  working  horses  and  cattle  are  always  at  hand; 
and,  as  they  have  no  trouble  in  collecting  their  food,  they  are 
quickly  filled,  and  soon  ready  for  service.  When  live  stock 
are  confined  in  well  fenced  yards,  the  farmer  may  sleep  quietly 
— his  crops  are  not  injured  by  theij  breaking  into  his  fields. 
Division  fences,  too,  are  saved;  they  are  costly  and  a  nursery 
for  weeds. 

Mr.  Nicholson,  in  his  Farmer's  Assistant,  refers  to  a  com- 
munication from  Professor  Von  Thaer,*  of  Hanover,  detailing 
the  result  of  the  experience  of  Baron  De  Bulow  and  others. 
The  experiments  made,  run  through  a  series  of  years,  and  are 
represented  by  the  learned  Professor  as  highly  satisfactory, 
fully  establishing  the  superiority  of  the  system  over  all  others 
adopted  for  the  feeding  of  cattle  on  green  forage  or  herbage. 
From  the  great  mass  of  testimony  thus  collected,  Dr.  Von 
Thaer  lays  down  the  following  as  facts,  which  he  says  are 
incontrovertible;  and  numerous  subsequent  experiments,  both 
in  Europe  and  this  country,  fully  confirm  this  opinion. 

1.  A  spot  of  ground,  which,  when  pastured,  will  yield  only  sufficient  food  for 
one  head,  will  abundantly  maintain  four  when  left  in  the  stable.  2.  Soiling 
affords  at  least  double  the  quantity  of  manure  from  the  same  number  of  cattle; 
for  the  best  summer  manure  is  produced  in  the  stable  and  carried  to  the  fields  at 
the  most  proper  period  of  its  fermentation;  whereas,  when  dropped  on  the 
meadow  and  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  air  and  sun,  its  power  is  much  wasted. 

3.  Cows  which  are  accustomed  to  soiling,  will  yield  much  more  milk  when 
kept  in  this  manner,  and  fattening  cattle  will  improve  much  faster  in  weight. 

4.  They  are  less  subject  to  accidents  and  diseases — they  are  protected  from  the 
files  which  torment  them  in  the  fields  during  the  warm  weather;  and  they  do 
not  suffer  from  the  heat  of  summer. 

Many  other  advantages  are  enumerated.  Grazing  also  has 
its  advantages.  Experiments,  however,  render  it  certain  that 
soiling,  under  favourable  circumstances,  is  the  most  profitable. 
The  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  of  Massachusetts,  ascertained  in 
1820,  that  seventeen  acres  of  land,  under  the  soiling  system, 

*  Professor  Von  Thaer,  of  the  Royal  Farm  and  College  of  Agriculture, 
established  by  the  king  of  Prussia  at  Moegelin,  near  Frankfort  on  the  Oder. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.  265 

supported  as  much  stock,  and  in  as  good,  if  not  better  condi- 
tion, as  had  previously  required  fifty;  and  Sir  John  Sinclair 
states,  that  thirty-three  head  of  cattle  were  soiled  from  the  20th 
of  May  to  the  1st  of  October,  1815,  on  seventeen  acres  and  a 
half,  of  which  fifty  were  necessary  in  pasture.  The  saving  of 
land  was  consequently  thirty-two  and  a  half  acres. 

In  the  Farmers'  Series  of  the  Library  of  Knowledge,  the 
soiling  of  horses  on  green  food  is  favourably  noticed;  and  that 
they  can  be  supported  with  great  health  and  vigour,  in  the  yard 
or  stable,  with  proper  management,  is  conceded — but  its  '^econo- 
my, however,  must  depend  on  the  proportion  which  it  bears  to 
the  price  of  dry  food,  and  its  convenience  to  the  quantity  in 
which  it  can  be  spared  for  other  cattle."  The  experience  of 
many  hundreds  of  farmers  is  cited  to  show,  that  horses  main- 
tained for  years  in  this  manner,  have  neither  lost  flesh  nor 
strength,  although  there  was  no  perceptible  saving  in  their 
work — and  that,  though  placed  on  dry  food  during  the  winter 
season,  they  continued  in  the  possession  of  perfect  health. 

It  is  a  most  excellent  plan  to  give  some  green  food  along  with  the  corn  and 
chaff,  before  the  usual  period  of  feeding  entirely  on  dry  fodder.*  The  change 
from  green  to  dry  and  again  from  dry  to  green,  should  be  (very)  gradual.  In 
its  commencement,  the  clover  and  tares  should  be  cut  and  mixed  in  small  por- 
tions with  straw,  and  a  proportionate  quantity  of  grain  should  be  reduced.  The 
green  food  is  then  insensibly  increased,  until  the  grain  is  entirely  omitted,  and 
the  quantity  of  green  food  supplied  without  limitation.  It  should,  however,  be 
cut  over-night,t  (late  in  the  evening,)  and  given  only  in  small  quantities  gra- 
dually increased,  to  guard  as  much  as  possible  from  accidents,  which  may 
arise  from  its  succulence,  from  hooing.t  When  horses  are  soiled,  they  never 
should  get  much  at  a  time,  a  practice  far  too  prevalent. 

The  artificial  grasses  used  for  soiling  are  the  same  as  those 
described  as  suitable  for  dry  forage  or  hay;§  but  tares,  where 
raised,  now  take  the  lead,  as  the  winter  sown  are  generally 
earlier  ready  than  any  of  the  grasses — with  perhaps  the  excep- 
tion of  rye-grass  in  some  localities — and  affords  a  much  heavier 
crop.  Soiling,  when  reduced  to  a  system,  requires  a  regular 
succession  of  green  crops;  it  is  therefore  advisable  that  winter 
and  summer  tares  (whenever  they  prove  a  certain  crop)  should 
be  sown  at  different  periods,  so  as  to  afford  a  constant  sup- 
ply, both  before  the  clover  comes  in  and  after  the  first  crop 
is  cut  oE     Lucern  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  plants  for  soil- 

*  No  animal  should  be  fed  entirely  on  dry  fodder — it  is  a  bad  practice. 

t  Grass  for  neat  cattle  should  be  cut  in  the  morning — is  much  more  relished 
and  the  fattening  greatly  expedited,  if  the  grasses  are  cut  fresh,  frequently 
through  the  day.  Cattle  are  disgusted  with  grass  which  has  been  lying  too 
long  before  them,  in  the  sewers  or  cribs,  or  if  left  in  the  field  until  withered  or 
heated,  which  speedily  takes  place. 

X  Hooing  may  be  guarded  against,  with  care.  The  disease  is  produced  by 
the  quality,  and  not  the  quantily  of  food,  but  it  is  of  course  rendered  much 
more  dangerous  by  an  increased  quantity. 

§  In  some  places  meadows  are  mown  for  this  purpose. 
23 


266        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

ing.     A  well  authenticated  paper,  in  the  Communications  to 

the  (English)  Board  of  Agriculture  states,  that  in  one  year 

twenty-three  horses  have  been  kept  twenty  weeks;  and  in  the 

next,  twenty-eight  horses  during  eighteen  weeks,  upon  eleven 

acres  of  lucern  alone,  which  gives  an  average  of  three  roods 

per  horse  in  nineteen  weeks.* 

In  Holland  and  Flanders  where  the  feeding  of  cattle  is  supposed  to  be  much 
better  understood  than  in  most  countries,  the  summer^soiling  of  farm-horses  is 
limited  to  half  an  acre  of  meadow  grass,  cut  and  carried  to  the  stable,  from  the 
middle  of  May  to  the  middle  of  June,  from  which  time  to  the  end  of  August 
one-sixth  of  an  acre  of  clover  is  added,  with  two  pounds  of  beans  daily;  and 
from  thence  to  November,  when  the  winter  feeding  commences,  the  clover  is 
replaced  by  an  equal  quantity  of  carrots.  From  the  number  of  horses  stated, 
in  this  instance,  to  be  kept  in  proportion  to  the  tillage — eleven  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  alluvial  soil — their  labour  can,  however,  be  only  light,  though 
a  pair  is  said  to  draw  a  ton  and  a  half  of  manure  in  the  field,  and  three  tons 
upon  the  road.t 

After  viewing  all  inconveniences,  a  great  variety  of  circum- 
stances concur  to  prove  most  satisfactorily,  that  the  practice  of 
suiling  or  feeding  cattle  during  the  summer  season  with  dif- 
ferent green  and  succulent  vegetables,  which  are  cut  and  car- 
ried to  them,  and  of  stall-feeding  them  in  the  winter  season 
with  dry  fodder,  in  conjunction  with  various  nutritive  roots, 
such  as  the  sugar-beet,  ruta-baga,  carrots,  &c.  will,  in  general, 
be  found  highly  economical.  J 


III.    GRAZING  OR  PASTURING  STOCK. 

In  this  country — where  very  extensive  natural  pastures 
abound,  and  the  price  of  new  land  of  the  highest  grade  of  fer- 
tility is  much  less  than  the  annual  rent  per  acre  of  land  in  Eng- 
land— the  system  of  grazing  was  early  introduced,  and  gene- 
rally prevails  at  the  present  day.  The  sub-divisions  of  land 
that  is  kept  exclusively  for  grazing  should  depend  as  well  upon 
its  fertility,  as  upon  the  number  of  diflferent  kinds  of  animals 
that  are  to  be  kept  upon  it.  The  excellence  of  pastures  de- 
pends greatly  both  upon  their  position  and  upon  the  different 
species  of  animals  for  whose  support  they  are  designed. 

Uplands,  for  instance,  which  are  elevated,  open,  and  dry, 

*  Vol.  vii.,  article  25,  Part  I. 

t  Radclifi''s  Report  of  the  Agriculture  of  East  and  West  Flanders,  p.  216. 
Another  farm,  of  two  hundred  acres,  mentioned  in  the  same  Report,  is  culti- 
vated by  eight  horses,  each  of  which  get  daily,  in  winter,  fifteen  pounds  of  hay, 
ten  pounds  of  straw,  and  eight  pounds  of  oats — and,  after  every  feed,  a  bucket 
of  water,  richly  lohitened  with  rye  or  oat-meal.  In  summer,  clover  is  substituted 
for  hay,  but  the  other  feeding  remains  the  same,  and  the  while  water  is  never 
omitted. — p.  54. 

t  Complete  Grazier,  p.  78. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.        267 

are  the  best  adapted  for  the  feeding  of  sheep — while  heavy- 
stock  is  fed  with  more  advantage  upon  ground  which  is  lower 
in  point  of  situation,  as  well  as  better  enclosed.  The  soil  of 
uplands — particularly  if  it  be  of  a  chalky  nature — bears  a  short 
though  a  sweet  bite  of  grass,  which  is  so  favourable  to  the  pas- 
turage of  the  smaller  breeds  of  sheep,  that  although  it  will  sup- 
port but  a  scanty  stock,  it  yet  produces  the  finest  species  of 
mutton.*  Pastures  of  this  description  secure  sheep  from  the 
rot,  and  in  a  great  degree  preserves  them  from  the  attacks  of 
flies,  from  which  they  often  suffer  severely. 

But  by  far  the  greatest  portion  of  the  lands  of  this  country 
have  never  been  cultivated — where  forests  do  not  abound  with 
a  close  undergrowth  of  brush,  these  lands  generally  produce, 
without  cultivation,  the  herbage  plants  peculiar  to  them.  Im- 
mense tracts  of  mountain  and  hilly  pastures,  and  unimproved 
low  lands  are  yet  met  with;  a  portion  of  these  lands  in  their 
present  state  are  unsuited  to  cultivation;  yet  they  are  suscepti- 
ble of  vast  improvement,  especially  the  latter  class,  by  freeing 
them  from  stagnant  water,  which  always  exerts  a  most  perni- 
cious influence  on  the  soil  and  its  produce.  This  is,  generally, 
easily  effected  to  a  desirable  extent,  by  affording  an  outlet  to 
the  water  in  channels,  cut  in  the  most  convenient  places.  This 
should  never  be  omitted  where  the  land  is  of  sufficient  value 
to  pay  the  expense — which,  under  careful  management,  is  not 
heavy — and  it  is  rare,  indeed,  where  land  is  naturally  of  suffi- 
cient fertility  to  produce  the  grasses  at  all,  that  the  expense  of 
giving  an  outlet  to  the  surface  water  will  not  be  repaid  by  the 
increased  value  of  the  herbage  plants  produced. 

Professor  Low  recommends  a  system  of  draining  which  has 
been  practiced  to  a  very  great  extent  in  some  of  the  mountain 
districts  of  Scotland,  which  is  by  means  of  narrow  drains,  about  a 
foot  in  depth,  made  by  the  spade  alone,  carried  along  hollows, 
whenever  the  water  is  likely  to  be  intercepted,  by  which 
means  it  is  directed  from  its  usual  or  natural  course.  He 
states  that  very  important  improvements  have,  by  this  pro- 
cess, been  effected  at  little  cost,  and  that  the  tendency  to  rot, 
one  of  the  most  fatal  disorders  to  which  sheep  on  wet  lands  are 
liable,  is  thereby  lessened  or  removed. 

Mr.  Lorain  recommends  enclosing  or  the  laying  out  of 
natural  pastures  into  fields  of  a  suitable  size,  as  a  great  means 
of  improvement  in  elevated  countries.  Shelter  is  afforded  to 
the  stock,  and  the  animals  feed  without  interruption;  as  a  mat- 
ter of  ornament  and  profit,  useful  trees  should  be  planted  at 
intervals  on  all  pasture  or  grazing  lands — for  which  purpose 

*  British  Husbandry,  vol.  i.  p.  478. 


268  MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

we  recommend  the  locust  and  the  sugar-maple;  they  will 
answer  for  hoth  profit  and  ornament. 

The  feeding  and  fattening  of  cattle,  whether  for  labour  or 
for  sale,  is  the  most  important  of  the  whole  economy  of  the 
grass  farm.  It  therefore  follows,  that  the  farmer  should  pre- 
viously consider  the  nature  and  fertility  of  his  pastures,  and 
the  extent  and  quality  of  his  other  resources — and,  according 
to  these,  he  ought  to  regulate  his  sj^stem  of  grazing,  soiling 
or  stall  feeding.  Those  beasts  only  should  be  selected  which 
evince  the  most  thinving  disposition  to  fatten  with  the  least 
consumption  of  food,  and  depasture  them  upon  such  lands  as 
are  best  calculated  for  the  respective  breeds.*  Cattle  ought  not 
to  be  taken  from  rich  to  inferior  soils — it  is  desirable  to  choose 
them  from  lands  of  nearly  the  same  quality  as  those  intended 
for  their  reception.  It  would  be  well  for  graziers  to  choose 
their  purchased  stock  from  an  inferior  soil.  It  is  also  proper 
in  all  situations  not  fully  supplied  with  wholesome  water,  to 
avoid  selecting  cattle  from  those  districts  where  it  abounds  in 
a  state  of  purity.  The  neglect  of  this  matter  has  proved  highly 
detrimental  to  the  interests  of  many  graziers. 

Mr.  Lawrence  says  that  a  heifer  or  cow  will  make  beef 
earlier  than  a  steer;  and  that  an  old  cow,  or  an  old  sheep,  will 
not  fatten  near  so  well  with  hay  as  with  grass. 

The  practice  oi  grazing  necessarily  differs  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  land.  In  stocking  lands,  as  the  proportion  of 
beasts  must  depend  upon  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  it  will  gene- 
rally be  found  that  local  custom,  which  is  generally  the  result 
of  experience,  will  afford  the  surest  guide.  Instances  are  re- 
corded in  English  works,  of  fifteen  large  bullocks  and  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  sheep  having  been  fattened  on  fifteen 
acres.  The  sub-divisions  of  land,  kept  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
pasturing,  should  depend  as  well  upon  its  fertility,  as  upon  the 
number  of  different  kinds  of  cattle  to  be  fed  upon  it.t  To 
render  the  grazing  of  cattle  profitable,  it  is  necessary  to  change 
them  from  one  pasture  to  another,  beginning  with  the  most 
inferior  grass,  and  gradually  removing  them  into  the  best.  By 
this  expedient,  as  cattle  delight  in  variety,  they  will  cull  the 
uppermost  or  choicest  parts  of  the  grass,  and  by  filling  them- 
selves quickly,  as  well  as  by  lying  down  much,  they  will 
rapidly  advance  towards  a  proper  state  of  fatness.  By  this 
process,  enclosures  are  rendered  necessary,  but  great  difference 
exists  as  to  the  most  suitable  size. 

John  Nicholson,  Esq.,  in  his  valuable  work,  the  Farmers' 
Assistant,  says,  ''If  a  farmer  has  but  three  cows,  and  has  three 

*  Complete  Grazier,  6th  ed.  p.  72.  t  Low's  Elements. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.        269 

acres  of  the  best  pasture  land,  he  ought  to  divide  this  into  at 
least  two  parts,  so  that  the  one  can  be  growing  while  the  other 
is  feeding.  Again,  if  he  keeps  twenty  cows,  and  has  twenty 
acres  of  the  best  pasture,  he  will  find  his  reward  in  having  it 
divided  into  four  parts,  and  pasturing  each  enclosure  three  or 
four  days  alternately.  In  this  way  pasture  land  will  keep  at 
least  one-fourth  more  of  cattle,  and  will  keep  them  better,  than 
if  the  pasture  were  in  one  field.  Not  only  a  change  of  pasture 
is  beneficial,  but  a  change  of  difierent  kinds  of  cattle,  in  the 
same  pasture,  should  be  attended  to.  Thus  let  the  milch  cows 
take  the  first  cropping  of  each  field  in  rotation,  then  the  horses 
and  oxen,  and  the  sheep  next.  In  this  way  the  last  feeder  will 
eat  much  grass  that  has  been  rejected  by  the  former." 

Pastures  should  never  be  overstocked;  that  is,  there  should 
always  be  a  sufficient  quantity  of  food  for  the  animals.  It  is 
also  desirable  that  the  large  and  strong  cattle  be  separated  from 
the  weaker  ones,  as  it  frequently  happens  that  where  they  are 
indiscriminately  mingled  together,  the  more  powerful  beasts 
will  master  the  others,  driving  them  from  place  to  place,  and 
trampling  upon  and  destroying  more  food  than  they  can  eat. 
To  prevent  these  inconveniences,  and  also  to  stock  the  land  to 
the  greatest  advantage,  the  Complete  Grazier  recommends  the 
following  method  of  feeding  and  fattening  cattle. 

Suppose  there  are  four  enclosures,  one  ought  to  be  kept  perfectly  free  from 
stock  till  the  grass  is  in  its  full  growth,  when  the  prime  or  fattening  cattle 
should  be  put  into  it,  that  they  may  get  the  best  food — the  second  best  should 
then  follow,  and  the  young  stock  after  all,  making  the  whole  feed  over  the  four 
enclosures  in  the  following  succession:  1.  Free  from  stock,  till  ready  for  the 
best  cattle.  2.  For  the  reception  of  the  best  cattle,  till  sent  to  No.  1.  3.  For 
the  second  best  cattle,  till  sent  to  No.  2.  4.  For  the  young  cattle,  till  sent  to 
No.  3.  Thus  the  fourth  enclosure  is  kept  free  from  stock  till  the  grass  is  got 
up,  and  it  is  ready  for  the  prime  cattle.  To  which  we  will  add  that  the  enclo- 
sures should  be  finally  gone  over  by  sheep,  by  which  they  will  be  ealen  down 
to  a  close  and  even  sward,  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  after  growth. 

Fattening  cattle  will  cull  the  choicest  parts  of  the  grass, 
when  this  system  is  adopted,  and  advance  rapidly  towards  a 
state  of  maturity — for  they  should  always  have  a  full  bite  of 
short  sweet  grass;  and  with  such  cattle  the  utmost  care  must 
be  taken  not  to  overstock  the  enclosures — an  evil  of  too  fre- 
quent occurrence.  A  sub-division  of  enclosures  by  hurdles 
has  been  recommended.  We  have  already  referred  to  the  sub- 
ject of  shelte^^ — shade  and  pure  water  are  essentially  necessary 
— indeed  they  are  indispensable  to  the  thrift  and  comfort  of 
the  stock.  Where  there  are  no  trees,  rubbing  posts  should  be 
set  up  to  prevent  the  cattle  making  use  of  the  gates  and  fences 
for  that  purpose,  by  which  they  frequently  are  injured. 

In  the  management  of  land  kept  in  pasture,  no  manuring  is 
required  to  maintain  its  fertility,  which  will  be  increased  and 
23* 


270        MANAGEMKNT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

not  diminished  by  the  effects  of  pasturing.  Any  species  of 
manure,  however,  will  add  to  the  productiveness  of  land  in 
grass;  and  when  from  any  peculiar  cause,  it  is  thought  expe- 
dient to  manure  land  in  grass,  the  best  kind  of  manure  is 
usually  lime,  or  composts  of  earth  and  lime,  marl,  &c.  These 
should  invariably  be  applied  as  a  top  dressing,  that  is,  simply 
spread  upon  the  surface,  where  vegetation  has  become  inert  at 
the  fall  of  the  year,  or  before  it  has  become  vigorous  in  the 
spring. 


IV.    WINTER  STALL  FEEDING. 

This  practice  is  very  nearly  allied  to  that  of  summer  soiling 
—  it  is  in  fact  one  and  the  same — the  difference  being  produced 
by  a  change  of  food,  rendered  necessary  by  the  change  of  sea- 
son. Two  methods  are  adopted,  they  may  be  either  confined 
to  the  stalls,  or  kept  in  small  yards  with  open  sheds  attached. 
Great  numbers  of  cattle  fed  and  fattened  in  these  open  sheds 
are  invariably  termed  stall  fed.  It  has  been  found  by  some 
farmers  more  profitable  to  confine  cattle,  designed  for  the 
shambles,  in  stalls — but  still  much  diversity  of  opinion  pre- 
vails. 

Under  the  yard  system  of  feeding  the  animals  have  more 
freedom  than  when  fed  in  close  stalls,  and  that  moderate  exer- 
cise, which,  without  impeding  their  fattening,  tends  to  keep 
them  in  health.  They  receive  the  benefit  of  the  sun  and  air, 
and  have  always  the  shelter  shed  to  retire  to;  and  their  food, 
being  in  the  open  air,  is  kept  always  fresh.  The  management 
of  the  cattle  is  easy.  The  yards  should  be  small.  Each  shed 
with  its  yard  should  be  of  a  size  to  contain  easily  two  oxen,  or 
if  it  be  made  of  a  size  to  hold  four,  there  should  be  a  division 
between  each  pair,  so  that  more  than  two  shall  not  be  together. 
In  the  open  yard,  and  close  to  the  wall — which  should  be  well 
built — the  troughs  for  holding  the  provender  are  to  be  fixed. 

In  some  instances,  where  the  animals  to  be  fattened  or  kept 
through  the  winter  are  confined  to  the  house,  they  are  merely 
tied  by  the  neck  to  upright  posts,  and  fed  from  a  trough  or 
manger.  But  the  more  general  practice  is,  for  each  animal  to 
have  its  own  stall:  and  there  are  various  modes  of  fastening 
the  beasts;  those  generally  preferred,  are  represented  in  the 
annexed  diagrams.  For  a  full  account  of  the  various  modes 
of  fastening,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Farmer's  Cabinet, 
vol.  iii.  page  354.  When  the  cattle  are  for  the  first  time  to 
be  fixed  to  their  stakes,  or  the  fastenings  in  the  stalls,  great 


MANAGEMENT  OP  GRASS  LANDS.  271 

care  is  needed  to  induce  them  to  go  forward.  Gentle  means 
only  must  be  employed.  The  chain  or  strap  should  be  so 
shortened  as  to  prevent  their  turning  round.  As  they  some- 
times injure  themselves  by  struggling,  it  is  needful  that  they 
be  carefully  watched  for  a  season.  The  roots  are  to  be  placed 
in  a  low  manger  before  them.  It  must  always  be  remembered 
that  one  of  the  essentials  of  success  is,  that  the  cattle  must  at 
all  times  be  well  littered. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  first  operation  to  be  performed  is, 
to  remove  the  dung  from  behind  the  cattle,  and  to  place  the 
roots  in  the  stall,  after  having  been  previously  prepared.  While 
the  cattle  are  feeding,  the  dung  is  to  be  wheeled  out  of  the 
house  and  deposited  in  the  yard  or  dung  pit.  When  the  roots 
are  eaten,  good  hay,  well  cured,  should  be  placed  before  them, 
and  they  being  now  littered,  will  soon  lie  down  and  chew  the 
cud. 

At  mid-day  they  are  again  to  be  fed  as  before;  and  again  be- 
fore sunset;  a  sufficient  quantity  of  provender  being  placed  be- 
fore them  after  each  meal;  and,  finally,  whenever  it  can  be 
done  with  perfect  safety,  the  farmer  or  keeper,  before  retiring 
for  the  night,  should  examine  them  to  see  that  all  is  right,  stir 
their  litter,  and  if  necessary  place  more  provender  before  them. 
Under  this  system  the  cattle  will  be  fully  fed,  and  induced, 
during  the  intervals  of  feeding,  to  lie  down.  Early  in  the 
morning  the  same  process  re-commences — and  the  utmost 
regularity  is  to  be  observed  in  these  operations,  for  the  ani- 
mals know  the  precise  time  of  feeding,  and  become  restless 
when  it  is  not  observed.  Careful  feeders  currycomb  their 
cattle,  and  in  all  cases  are  exceedingly  particular  that  the  skin 
is  kept  free  from  vermin  or  other  impurity. — Low. 

The  first  point,  therefore,  to  be  observed,  is  the  comfort  of 
accommodation — which  embraces  security,  perfect  shelter, 
a  sufficient  degree  of  warmth,  and  an  abundant  supply  of  dry 
litter.  A  moderate  degree  of  healthful  ventilation  is  recom- 
mended. The  next  point  is  strict  regularity  in  the  admin- 
istration of  food.  The  periods  may  be  regulated  as  the  feeder 
thinks  proper,  both  as  to  time  and  quantity,  but  when  once 
adopted,  must  not  be  deviated  from,  for  reasons  previously 
assigned.  Nothing  is  found  more  conducive  to  the  fattening 
of  animals  than  perfect  quietude — every  means  therefore  should 
be  used  to  induce  rest,  ease,  and  contentment.  The  periods  of 
feeding  recommended  above  is  sufficient,  as  digestion  is  inter- 
rupted by  too  frequent  feeding.  The  quantity  should  be  mode- 
rate— that  is,  the  animal  should  not  be  cloyed — he  should  have  as 
much  as  he  can  eat  with  a  relish,  but  no  more.  The  last  point 
to  be  observed  is  Morow^/i  cleanliness.     The  houses  should 


272        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

be  opened  early,  well  ventilated,  and  cleansed  by  pail  and 
broom  of  every  impurity.  When  the  animals  are  satisfied,  the 
surplus  must  be  immediately  removed,  the  cribs  and  mangers 
swept  out,  and  when  necessary  well  washed.  Water  must  in 
all  cases  be  given  laithout  limitation,  clean  and  fresh,  and 
the  watering  troughs  daily  well  washed  out  and  cleansed. 

Assuming  that  six  hundred  bushels  of  the  ruta-baga  will  grow  upon  an 
acre — which  we  have  shown  is  much  below  the  average  where  good  manage- 
ment is  present — and  that  six  hundred  bushels  of  the  roots  will  go  as  far  in 
making  beef  as  three  acres  in  corn,  with  the  further  advantage,  that  the  latter 
will  cost  three  times  as  much  labour  in  its  culture  as  the  former.  The  mangel- 
wurtzel,  the  carrot,  and  parsnep,  may  all  be  raised  in  field  culture,  at  about  the 
same  expense  per  acre  as  corn — and  they  will  give  as  great  a  yield,  and  afford 
as  much  nutriment  as  the  ruta-baga.  The  potato,  whose  culture  we  are  all  ac- 
quainted with,  should  be  made  to  yield  (average)  three  hundred  bushels;  and 
these  afford  a  far  more  profitable  feed  than  grain.  A  bullock  will  consume 
from  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  two  hundred  and  forty  pounds  of  ruta-baga 
per  day— but,  if  full  fed  with  "this,  or  other  roots,  they  will  consume  but  little 
hay,  and  have  little  or  no  occasion  for  water. —  Opinion  of  Judge  Buel.  We 
find  no  notice  here  of  the  sugar-beet,  as  it  was  just  introduced,  and  its  great 
and  peculiar  merit  and  advantages  but  little  known.  It  is  one  of  the  most  pro- 
lific and  nutritious  roots.  The  average  yield  of  the  sugar-beet  and  ruta-baga, 
on  good  soil,  with  good  culture  and  a  friendly  season,  will  reach  one  thousand 
bushels  per  acre — two  thousand  and  upwards  of  the  former,  and  fifteen  hun- 
dred of  the  latter,  have  been  raised  to  the  acre;  and  it  has  been  ascertained, 
that  four  bushels  of  either  will  go  as  far  as  one  bushel  of  grain  in  the  keep  of" 
cattle. 

The  practice  of  stall-feeding,  properly  speaking,  is  more 
common;  and  in  the  management  of  this  branch  of  feeding,  no 
common  share  of  attention  is  required,  for  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  conducted  may  effect  the  thriving  of  the  beasts  nearly  as 
much  as  the  quantity  and  the  quality  of  their  food — and  the 
farmer  who  thinks  he  has  only  to  throw  them  plenty,  without 
regarding  the  mode  of  supplying  it,  will  find  himself  deceived 
in  the  expectation  of  improvement.*  The  late  George  Cul- 
LEY — one  of  the  most  eminent  cattle  breeders — was  of  opinion 
that  a  plain,  coarse,  ugly  animal,  may  pay  more  than  a  fine 
well  made  one,  for  the  reason  that  the  coarse  one  is  bought  at 
a  much  less  price  in  proportion;  and  it  cannot  be  too  earnestly 
pressed  upon  the  feeder,  the  propriety  of  selecting  those  cattle 
for  the  stall — or  indeed  for  any  farm  purpose — which  have  the 
finest  points  in  their  form;  for  these  will  not  only  carry  beef 
of  the  finest  qualit)^,  but  will  consume  less  food  in  proportion 
— particularly  as  they  attain  age  and  fatness — and  thereby, 
generally,  realize  the  greatest  profit  on  their  fattening. 

The  relative  proportion  of  food  consumed  by  fattening 
beasts,  varies  according  to  the  size  and  quality  of  the  animals, 
and  the  nutriment  afforded  by  the  vegetables  with  which  they 
are  supplied.     It  is  not  the  quantity  of  food  which  the  animal 

*  British  Husbandry,  vol.  ii.  No.  12. 


MANAGEMENT  OP  GRASS  LANDS.        273 

consumes  that  fattens  it,  but  the  quality.  Formerly  nothing 
but  hay  was  used  in  fattening  animals,  but  this  was  found  to 
be  a  tedious  and  expensive  process,  although  of  all  vegetable 
substances  nothing  can  be  better  than  good  hay  for  improving 
the  flesh  of  fattening  cattle.  Notwithstanding,  beef  cannot  be 
made  to  profit  on  hay  alone.  Of  late  years — that  is,  since  the 
practice  has  become  general  in  England  and  on  the  continent 
— oil  and  rape-cake  has  been  generally  used,  and  almost  every 
species  of  field  root — and  likewise,  what  cannot  be  highly 
recommended,  if  indeed  it  can  be  recommended  at  all — the 
grain  and  wash  from  distilleries.* 

Potatoes,  mangel-wurtzel,  carrots,  parsneps,  cabbages  and 
turnips  of  every  kind,  have  been  brought  into  general  use,  and 
found  highly  valuable.  But  these  roots  must  give  place — 
though  not  entirely — to  the  very  superior  claims  of  the  ruta- 
baga and  the  sugar-beet,  the  latter  of  very  recent  introduction 
among  us.  They  are  adapted,  admirably,  to  our  soil  and  cli- 
mate— yield  immense  crops  with  proper  cultivation — are  hardy 
— exceedingly  nutritious — and  eaten  with  the  greatest  avidity 
by  all  animals,  who  thrive  astonishingly  upon  the  sugar-beet 
especially.  For  further  particulars  respecting  the  different 
roots  here  named,  the  reader  is  referred  to  their  respective 
heads.  A  fair  allowance  of  good,  sound,  nutritive  hay  should 
not  be  omitted,  with  occasionally  a  mess  of  grain  properly 
prepared.  Roots,  be  it  remembered,  are  important  auxiliaries, 
not  substitutes,  in  the  economy  of  fodder. 

The  cooking  of  all  kinds  of  grain  roots,  &c.  for  every  variety 
of  stock,  is  coming  into  very  general  practice,  especially  in 
this  country — for  this  purpose  various  machines  have  been 
constructed — many  of  them  on  very  simple  principles,  for  car- 
rying on  the  process  of  steaming  with  the  greatest  economy 
and  least  consumption  of  time.  In  our  chapter  on  farm  im- 
plements, we  have  given  cuts  of  several,  with  explanations 
annexed.  The  practice  has  been  highly  commended  in  all 
our  agricultural  periodicals.     The  Farmer's   Assistant  says, 

*  The  practice  of  feeding  animals  on  the  refuse  of  distilleries,  is  very  exten- 
sively practiced  both  in  this  country  and  in  England.  This  wash  or  refuse  is 
generally  purchased  by  persons  residing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  our  large 
cities  and  towns,  who  supply  them  with  milk,  and,  in  such  cases,  constitute 
almost  entirely  the  sole  food  of  milch  cows.  This  practice  is  most  pernicious; 
and  the  reason  for  this  assertion  must  be  apparent  to  every  intelligent  man 
"who  will  investigate  the  subject.  That  cattle  will  fatten  on  the  refuse  of  dis- 
tilleries is  universally  admitted.  We  find  it  stated  in  the  second  volume  of 
British  Husbandry  that  eight  hundred  and  ten  oxen  were  fattened  on  the  re- 
fuse of  twenty-five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  quarters  of  barley,  and  iu 
twenty  weeks  an  increase  of  flesh  was  acquired,  averaging  to  each  of  the  cattle, 
thirty-five  stone  of  eight  pounds  each — which,  deducting  five  stone  as  the 
value  of  the  hay  they  consumed,  leaves  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  thousand 
four  hundred  pounds  of  beef— a  most  astonishing  result. 


274        MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS. 

that  "grain,  roots,  vegetable  matter  of  every  kind,  even  grass 
itself,  is  found  much  improved  as  a  food  for  cattle,  when  it  has 
been  fully  subjected  to  the  operations  of  steaming.  William 
Pexn  Kinzer,  Esq.,  of  Lancaster  county.  Pa.,  prepares  his 
grain  by  ^'boiling  in  proportion  of  one  bushel  of  grain  to  forty 
gallons  water.  For  fattening,  I  have  found  one-third  of  corn 
to  two-thirds  of  bran  sufficient;  but  if  the  process  is  to  be 
hastened,  the  proportion  is  reversed.  *  *  *  By  this  me- 
thod, cattle  and  hogs  are  fattened  in  half  the  time  that  is  re- 
quired on  raw  grain,  with  an  economy  of  grain  infinitely  great." 
iVIilch  cows  with  the  same  feed,  yielded  a  surprising  increase 
of  milk  and  cream.  Steaming,  says  Mr.  K.,  I  confine  entirely 
to  every  variety  of  roots. 

Numerous  experiments  have  been  made  to  ascertain  the  ad- 
vantages of  preparing  the  food  of  cattle  either  by  steaming  or 
boiling,  over  the  old  method  of  feeding  raw.  The  result  has 
been  almost  invariably  in  favour  of  the  practice;  but  the  opi- 
nion long  entertained,  and  warmly  inculcated,  that  by  this 
process  the  nutritive  properties  of  the  food  thus  prepared,  is 
increased  or  augmented,  is  entirely  erroneous.  The  food,  when 
cooked,  is  unquestionably  more  readily  digested;  and  by  this 
means  it  is,  that  the  animals  receive  more  nourishment  from  a 
given  quantity  cooked  or  steamed  food,  than  the  same  amount 
if  fed  raw.  Steamed  food  is  never  of  the  same  advantage  to 
ruminating  animals,  as  to  those  with  single  stomachs,  as  the 
horse  and  the  hog.  Experiments  upon  equal  quantities  of 
food  cannot,  indeed,  be  considered  as  decisive  upon  the  feeding 
properties  of  cattle,  as  they  cannot  all  be  supposed  to  have 
appetites  alike,  or  be  in  a  disposition  most  favourable  to  the 
taking  on  of  fat. 

Recent  experiments  made  in  consequence  of  premiums 
offered  by  the  Highland  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland, 
have  had  a  tendency  to  throw  much  doubt  on  the  practice. 
The  animals  selected  were  fed  on  ruta-baga,  potatoes,  and 
beans.  When  put  up  on  the  20th  of  February,  the  difference 
in  the  total  live  weight  was  but  half  a  pound,  and  when 
slaughtered  on  the  20th  of  May,  the  total  difference  in  favour 
of  the  three  animals  fed  on  steamed  food,  over  the  three  fed  on 
raw,  was  but  four  pounds;  while  on  the  other  hand  the  three 
heifers  fed  on  steamed  food  had  consumed  about  one-fifth  more 
food  than  the  others.  In  this  consists  the  loss,  with  the  time 
and  expense  of  steaming.  This  experiment  is  not  conclusive, 
and  is  wholly  overthrown  by  the  every-day  experience  of 
many  of  our  practical  and  intelligent  farmers. 

The  propriety  and  profit  of  stall  feeding  with  grain,  will,  in 
a  great  measure,  depend  upon  the  price  of  the  latter.     The 


MANAGEMENT  OF  GRASS  LANDS.  275 

practice  of  feeding  grain  to  cattle,  unless  under  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances, cannot  be  recommended,  and  more  especially 
while  roots  adapted  to  the  purpose,  such  as  the  sugar-beet,  are 
so  readily  raised  in  great  abundance.  A  gentleman  residing 
in  Chester  county,  J.  J.  Milligan,  made  an  experiment  on 
this  subject.  In  his  account*  he  says,  I  ascertained  that  two 
yokes  of  oxen  would  sell  off  the  grass  for  two  hundred  dollars. 
.This  I  considered  a  fair  price;  but  being  disposed  to  stall  feed 
•for  more  profit,  I  had  them  placed  in  the  stalls  on  the  first  of 
November,  1836,  and  sold  them  the  middle  of  February  fol- 
lowing, when  beef  was  selling  "high"  in  the  market,  at  nine 
cents  per  pound,  with  the  allowance  of  sixty  pounds  to  the  one 
hundred  for  beef,  which  was  equal  to  five  dollars  and  thirty- 
three  cents  per  hundred  on  the  live  weight.  My  account  then 
is  as  follows: 

Dr.  Cb. 

$300  00 
:     15  00 


Dr. 

Cb. 

4  cattle  worth                           $200  00 

By  4  cattle  sold 

5J  tons  hay,  at  812                        66  00 

Manure,  exclusive  of  litterinj 

102  bushels  of  corn  at  90  cts.        91  80 

24  bushels  of  oats  at  45  cts.           12  60 

Loss 

370  40 

Interest  on  the  above  for  3i  mo.    6  24 

315  00 
6164 

$376  64 


$376  64 
The  experimenter  has  made  here  no  calculation  as  to  the 
time  occupied  in  overlooking  these  animals,  neither  has  he  stated 
how  the  grain  was  fed,  whether  in  a  raw  and  whole  or  cooked 
state;  we  apprehend  the  former,  though  we  greatly  regret  the 
omission  in  the  statement.  Mr.  Milligan,  has  certainly 
placed  the  agricultural  community  under  great  obligations,  for 
shewing  wherein  he  failed.  In  this  he  has  risen  superior  to 
prejudice.  It  is  as  necessary  for  us  to  know  wherein  expe- 
riments have  proved  unfavourable  as  otherwise.  We  sub- 
join another  experiment — see  Farmer's  Cabinet,  vol.  ii.  p. 
293 — by  Isaac  W.  Roberts,  of  Lower  Merion,  Montgomery 
county,  addressed  to  the  Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting 
Agriculture.     He  says — 

Believing  that  the  cause  of  agriculture  may  be  promoted  by  practical  obser- 
vations and  statistical  facts,  and  that  theories  and  principles  should  be  based 
on  these,  I  beg  leave  to  communicate  a  statement  regarding  four  bullocks 
which  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  bringing  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection.  One 
of  these  steers  was  admitted  to  be  one  of  the  fattest  ever  exhibited  an, the 
Philadelphia  market,  and  the  others  very  little  inferior  to  him.  By  the  an- 
nexed statement  it  will  be  seen  that  the  result,  of  between  two  and  three  years 
stall  feeding,  has  been  to  pay  me  full  prices  for  the  grain,  beets  and  hay  con- 
sumed, and  allow  the  manure  for  straw  and  labour,  a  result  that  I  think  would 
satisfy  any  reasonable  farmer  or  grazier.  At  the  same  time  to  succeed  well 
with  "feeding  large  cattle,  it  is  necessary  that  they  should  be  kind  and  good 
feeders.  They  should  also  be  attended  with  especial  care.  "Without  these 
pre-requisites  "the  farmer  had  better  sell  his  grain  than  stall  feed  cattle. 

*  Farmer's  Cabinet,  vol.  ii.  p.  227. 


276  MANAGEMENT  OP  GRASS  LANDS. 

Statement  to  \st  of  May,  1836. 

November  15,  1835,  bought  two  steers,  estimated  at  1750  lbs.  dead 

weight— cost              ....---  $11000 

Commenced  stall  feeding  them  on  the  1st  of  December  and  con- 
tinued 150  days  at  27  quarts  per  day,  or  126  bushels  at  70  cents,  88  20 
They  consumed  two  tons  of  hay  at  $16,           -            -           -            -  32  00 

The  grain  consisted  of  equal  parts  of  corn  and  oats,  ground;  or     

corn  and  "mill  stuff,"  or  wheat  bran.     On  the  1st  of  May,  1836,  230  20 

turned  them  on  grass  with  a  pair  of  oxen,  estimated  weight  1850 

lbs.  and  valued  at S150  00* 

4 

Statement  from  \st  of  May,  1836. 

Cost  as  above  of  the  four  cattle  .  -  .  .  -    $380  20 

Pasture  during  the  season  for  the  four  -  -  -  -        80  00 

Commenced  feeding  grain  on  the  1st  of  October,  twice  a  day,  till 
the  1st  of  December,  and  then  three  times  per  day  till  the  1st  of 
May,  1837,  equal  to  190  days  full  feeding  of  2  bushels  per  day,  or 
380  bushels  as  above,  at  70  cents,      -  -  -  -     "      -      266  00 

100  bushels  mangel-wurtzel  beets  at  25  cents,  -  -  -        25  00 

5  tons  of  hay  at  $16, 80  00 

$83100 


Grass  during  the  summer  of  1837         -  -  -  -  -        80  00 

Commenced  feeding  grain  on  the  1st  of  September,  1837,  twice  per 
day  till  the  Isl  of  December,  and  then  three  times  per  day  till  the 
19th  of  February,  say  140  days  full  feeding,  or  280  bushels  at  70 

cents,  -  -  - 196  00 

100  bushels  mangel-wurtzel,  at  25  cents,           -            -           -            -        25  00 
31  tons  of  hay,  at  $12,  - 42  00 

$1174  20 


On  the  19th  of  February,  1838,  sold  them  to  the  victuallers  for  1200  dollars. 
In  the  spring  of  1836  the  two  steers  would  have  sold  for  240  dollars,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1837  I  estimated  them  at  current  market  price  as  worth  750,  and  if 
then  sold  there  would  have  been  an  apparent  loss;  but  it  should  be  remarked 
in  explanation,  that  the  stall  feeding  extends  to  the  1st  of  May,  whereas  the 
season  for  selling  is  the  middle  of  February  to  the  1st  of  March,  when  their 
cost  was  about  what  I  estimated  them  as  worth  to  the  butcher. 

RECAPITULATION. 

First  cost  of  the  four  cattle,                   .....  $26000 

Pasture  during  two  seasons,                  .....  IGO  00 

Grain  fed  to  them  786  bushels  at  70  cents,                    ...  550  20 

Mangel-wurtzel  200  bushels  at  25  cents,                      -            -            -  50  00 

7  tons  of  hay,  at  $16,                  112  00 

31  tons  of  hay,  at  $12,                -           -            -           -           -            -  42  00 


$1174  20 
And  being  .sold  for  1200  dollars,  gives,  as  before  stated,  the  manure  for  straw 
and  labour,  leaving  a  balance  of  26  dollars,  and  paying  me  a  liberal  price  for 
the  produce  of  the  farm;  about  two-thirds  of  the  grain  consisted  of  equal  mea- 
sure of  corn  and  oats,  and  one-third  was  corn  and  mill-feed. 

By  the  foregoing  statement  it  appears  that  the  average  increase  in  value  of 
each  animal  was  about  100  dollars  per  annum. 

STATEMENT  OF  WEIGHT  AND  GIRTH. 

lAve  loeigkt.  Dead  weight.  Girth, 

Steers— .Vo.  1.  2422  lbs.                           1671  lbs.  9  ft.  1  in. 

No.  2.  2324  "                               1613i  "  8  "    9^  " 

Oxen— iVo.  3.  2555  "                               1691   "  9  "    2^  " 

No.  4.  2261  "                               1533J  "  8  "    9    " 


277 


XV.— GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 

I.    ARTIFICIAL  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  FARM. 

Fences  in  rural  economy  comprehend  in  general,  every 
sort  of  enclosure  that  is  employed  for  shelter,  or  designed  for 
the  protection  of  the  lands  thus  enclosed  from  the  intrusion  of- 
cattle;  they  are  of  different  kinds,  depending  on  the  various 
circumstances  of  soil,  situation,  the  kinds  of  materials  at  hand 
most  suitable  for  the  purpose,  and  the  convenience  with  which 
they  may  be  obtained.  Where  a  country  is  entirely  in  tillage, 
it  is  of  less  importance  that  farms  be  divided  by  artificial  bar- 
riers; but  wherever  live  stock  is  kept,  this  is  essential  to  the 
proper  keeping  of  the  animals,  and  to  the  profitable  occupation 
of  the  grounds,  besides  the  purpose  of  retaining  and  sepa- 
rating animals  of  different  kinds  from  one  another.  Every 
person  about  to  erect  a  fence,  should  have  special  regard  to 
three  essential  points — durability,  economy,  and  neatness  of 
appearance. 

"Poor  fences  are  of  incalculable  mischief  to  the  farmer." 
They  are  frequently  the  means  of  disturbing  that  good  neigh- 
bourhood which  would,  in  many  places,  otherwise  exist  with- 
out interruption,  if  each  farmer  would  attend  to  having  his 
fences  well  and  substantially  made,  and  kept  constantly  in 
good  order  and  repair.  Unless  fences  are  made  sufiiciently 
high  and  strong,  there  can  be  no  safety  to  the  crops — the  cat- 
tle selecting  the  weakest  points,  are  apt  to  break  over  them, 
and  thereby  imbibe  vicious  habits. 

The  description  of  fences  and  the  method  of  their  construc- 
tion, depends  wholly  upon  the  soil,  and  the  various  kinds  of 
materials  at  hand  or  most  readily  obtained.  There  are  a  variety 
of  kinds  of  fences  or  enclosures  used;  the  log  fence,  the  post 
and  rail,  the  worm  or  zigzag,  and  the  stone,  which,  when  the 
materials  are  readily  obtained,  and  the  fence  is  properly  built, 
is  by  all  means  the  most  durable,  economical,  and  secure — the 
ditch,  the  paling,  and  the  live  hedge.  But  in  whatever  man- 
ner and  of  whatever  materials  they  may  be  constructed,  they 
should  be  frequently  surveyed  with  a  critical  eye,  and  all  de- 
fects rectified  without  the  least  delay. 

The  growing  and  alarming  scarcity  of  timber  in  the  United 
States,  renders  the  enclosure  of  farms  a  very  expensive  item. 
It  therefore  is  the  interest  of  the  farmer  to  preserve  his  fences, 
24 


278  GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 

now  in  good  condition,  as  long  as  possible  in  that  state;  and, 
in  the  construction  of  new  ones,  to  exercise  economy,  by 
having  them  erected,  of  whatever  materials,  in  a  most  substan- 
tial and  durable  manner.  The  saving  of  a  few  dollars  in  the 
outlay,  is  only  apparent — not  real.  We  must  not  be  under- 
stood as  advocating  extravagance  in  this  or  any  other  depart- 
ment of  rural  affairs;  but  we  do  maintain,  that  what  is  worth 
doing  at  all,  is  worth  doing  well,  and  that  therefore,  in  the 
erection  offences,  the  best  and  most  durable  materials  should 
be  selected;  and  the  whole  put  together  in  a  solid,  substantial, 
and  workmanlike  manner. 

Almost  every  individual  has  an  idea  that  he  fully  under- 
stands the  process  of  making  rail  fence,  which  is  a  simple 
process,  and  yet  perhaps  not  more  than  one  in  twenty  has  any 
established  system  or  fixed  rules  by  which  their  operations  are 
to  be  controlled  in  this  essential  and  important  department  of 
farm  labour,  A  writer  in  the  Genesee  Farmer,  says  that  no 
sight  is  to  him  more  pleasing  than  a  well  made  rail  fence. 
His  system  of  construction  is  briefly  as  follows: — 

"To  ascertain  when  a  sufficient  number  of  rails  have  been  drawn  for  a  given 
distance  of  fence — 1.  If  the  fence  is  to  be  seven  rails  high,  and  twelve  feet 
long,  place  them  in  piles  of  ten  each,  in  a  continuous  line,  touching  each  other. 
2.  Place  in  range,  stakes  or  poles  at  intervals  to  designate  the  line;  prepare  a 
pole  seven  or  eight  feet  long,  well  sharpened  at  one  end;  (the  end  ought  by  all 
means  to  be  pointed  with  iron;)  at  about  eighteen  inches  from  the  pointed 
end,  fasten  a  rod  at  right  angles  with  the  pole,  and  extending  thence  from  three 
feet,  two,  four,  or  six  inches,  according  as  the  fence  is  exposed  to  winds.  Put 
down  this  pole  in  a  range  with  the  poles  designating  the  line,  and  the  end  of 
the  rod  will  show  the  place  for  the  corner.  Place  then,  for  a  foundation,  a 
good  sized  flat  stone,  and  you  are  ready  to  commence  operations.  3.  The 
bottom  rail  should  be  straight — place  the  largest  end  forward  on  the  stone,  and 
the  other  end  crossing  the  preceding  rail  at  the  end  of  the  rod  of  the  ranging 
pole,  so  that  the  corners  on  each  side  be  in  exact  line.  4.  Let  the  five  follow- 
ing rails  be  placed  the  smallest  end  forward,  and  notched,  if  necessary',  to  make 
them  lie  steadily.  5.  Let  the  top  rail  be  heavy  and  well  notched,  the  largest 
end  placed  forward,  which  completes  the  work,  leaving  your  fence  level  and  of 
equal  height  throughout." 

Various  substitutes  have  been  proposed  for  the  common  post 
and  rail  fence,  the  most  prominent  of  which  will  be  hereafter 
noticed.  Notwithstanding  the  great  scarcity  of  timber  in  the 
Atlantic  states,  which  is  a  matter  of  great  solicitude,  in  view  of 
obtaining  in  future  a  supply  of  timber  suitable  for  fencing 
alone,  tlie  system  of  post  and  rail  fences,  with  proper  manage- 
ment on  the  part  of  farmers,  may  be  easily  and  advantageously 
perpetuated.  James  Worth,  Esq.,  of  Sharon,  near  Newton, 
Bucks  county,  Penna.,  a  gentleman  who  has  devoted  much  of 
his  time,  talents,  and  fortune  in  promoting  the  general  inter- 
ests of  agriculture,  after  a  minute  and  careful  examination  of 
the  claims  of  all  the  varieties  offences  used  and  recommended 
throughout  the  country,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  post 


GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM.  279 

and  rail,  and  the  stone  fence,  (wherever  the  materials  for  its 
construction  abound,)  were  best  adapted  to  the  country  and  the 
interests  of  the  farmer.  Having  determined  in  favour  of  the 
post  with  fine  rails,  for  general  purposes,  he  says: — 

"I  turn  ray  attention  to  that  particular  kind,  and  will  proceed  to  provide  for 
its  future  supply.  Plant  an  acre  of  ground  with  chestnut  and  locust  seeds,  five- 
sixths  of  it  with  chestnut  for  rails,  and  one-sixth  with  locust  for  posts.  Four 
trees  will  grow  on  a  perch,  making  six  hundred  and  forty  on  the  acre;  I  sup- 
pose that  forty  of  them  will  fail,  leaving  six  hundred  trees,  each  of  which  will 
produce  in  thirty  years,  and  every  twenty  to  twenty-five  years  afterwards, 
twenty  rails  or  posts,  which  will  yield  at  each  cutting,  twelve  thousand  posts 
and  rails,  or  two  thousand  panels.  Then  say  the  acre  of  land  is  worth  eighty 
dollars,  it  will  reduce  the  materials  to  four  cents  per  panel,  which,  with 
making  and  putting  up,  will  not  exceed  twenty-five  cents.  In  point  of  durability, 
I  am  persuaded  that  it  will  be  exceeded  by  none  except  the  stone,  and  it  will 
have  an  advantage  over  that  by  being  moveable  when  necessary.'' 

Mr.  Worth's  reasons  for  preferring  the  locust  post  and 
chestnut  rails,  are  thus  stated.  It  occupies  less  ground  than 
any  other — the  borders  of  the  fields  are  easily  kept  clean — the 
great  durability  of  the  materials — the  ease  with  which  they 
may  be  obtained  by  every  farmer — as  the  trees  flourish  in  a 
tolerably  good  soil  in  every  part  of  our  country.  One  acre 
thus  appropriated  is  sufficient  for  a  farm  of  five  hundred  acres; 
and  consequently,  a  quarter  of  an  acre  will  be  abundant  for  a 
farm  of  one  hundred  acres.  To  what  better  or  more  profitable 
purpose  can  so  small  a  portion  of  the  best  land  on  the  farm  be 
appropriated.  The  only  objection  is  that  there  is  no  imme- 
diate availability;  that  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years  must 
elapse  before  the  trees  can  be  made  into  rails.  This  objection 
is  as  unsatisfactory  as  it  is  unsound.  There  are  thousands, 
who,  if  they  were  now  to  appropriate  sufficient  ground,  ac- 
cording to  the  size  of  their  farms,  and  plant  it  as  proposed, 
may,  with  the  blessing  of  Providence,  live  to  enjoy  its  advan- 
tages for  years.  What!  not  plant  an  orchard  or  a  grove  of 
locust,  or  a  cluster  of  maple,  because  we  shall  not  live  to  enjoy 
the  benefits  thereof!  Such  statements  should  never  find  an 
abiding  place  in  the  bosom  of  an  American  farmer;  for  every 
intelligent  man  knows  full  well,  that  every  measure  of  this 
kind,  tends  not  merely  to  adorn  and  beautify  his  plantation, 
but  also  greatly  to  increase  its  prospective  value.  Every  far- 
mer should  see  without  delay  to  having  his  grounds  suitably 
stocked  with  trees. 

It  is  estimated  that  a  fence  of  locust  posts  and  chestnut  rails, 
with  very  little  repair,  will  last  for  at  least  sixty  years;  so  that 
the  necessities  of  the  farm  would  require  only  the  third  cutting 
of  the  timber — the  two  intermediate  cuttings,  yielding  thirty 
thousand  posts  and  rails,  are  ready  for  a  market,  which  would 
be  readily  found,  and  which  at  the  low  rate  of  five  dollars  a 


280  GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 

hundred,  would  give  the  owner  of  the  farm  an  average  gain  of 
twenty  dollars  for  each  and  every  year  the  acre  of  land  was 
thus  appropriated;  in  addition  to  furnishing  all  necessary 
fencing  for  the  farm.  This,  dating  from  the  commencement, 
is  a  handsome  profit. 

Cedar  post  and  rail  fence.  James  Garnett,  Esq.,  a  name 
familiar  to  the  reading  farmer,  says — "I  can  affirm,  from  my 
own  experience,  that  a  cedar  post  and  rail  fence,  without  any 
ditch,  the  materials  for  which  grow  spontaneously  over  a  large 
portion  of  Virginia,  and  will  grow  by  planting  almost  any 
where  in  the  United  States,  will  last,  without  the  slightest  re- 
pair, from  thirteen  to  fourteen  years;  and  may  be  made  to  last 
six  or  eight  years  longer,  by  a  few  occasional  supplies  of  rails 
and  posts.  I  also  know,  from  my  own  experience,  that  either 
cedar,  chestnut,  or  locust,  the  last  of  which  is  more  durable 
than  either,  will,  in  fourteen  years,  grow  sufficiently  large  to 
make  the  fence  anew,  if  planted  by  the  side  of  it — one  or  two 
to  each  panel." — From  Mr.  GarneWs  Address  before  the 
Fredericksburg y  Virginia,  Jigricultural  Society. 

A  great  diversity  of  opinion  has  prevailed  among  many  per- 
sons as  to  the  best  time  for  cutting  timber,  so  as  to  insure  its 
greatest  durability.  Some  recommend  the  summer  season, 
some  the  fall,  others  the  winter,  when  the  sap  has  generally  de- 
scended; while  others  again  who  have  entered  into  a  careful 
investigation  of  the  subject,  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  most  suitable  period  for  felling  timber  is  in  the  spring 
while  the  sap  flows  freely.  This  will,  no  doubt,  be  considered 
as  rank  heresy  by  many  of  those  who  cannot  regard  with  com- 
placency what  they  deem  innovations  on  their  old  and  favourite 
systems.  But  this  opinion  is  gaining  ground,  from  the  simple 
circumstance,  that  it  is  well  sustained  by  incontrovertible  facts. 

An  old  and  observing  friend,  Captain  Cooper,  of  the  navy, 
furnished  for  publication  some  time  since,  in  an  agricultural 
work,  a  variety  of  facts,  touching  this  important  matter;  from 
which  it  clearly  appears  that  spring,  that  is,  while  the  sap  is 
flowing  freely,  is  the  best  time  for  cutting  timber.*  The  late 
Joseph  Cooper,  Esq.,  warmly  advocated  this  system.     In  the 

*  Farmer's  Cabinet,  vol.  iii.  p.  29,  one  fact  is  given.  J.  C,  (Joseph  Cooper, 
Esq.,)  informed  me  that  a  detachment  of  British  troops  crossed  from  Philadel- 
phia the  1st  day  of  Ma)',  in  1777,  and  on  the  2nd  commenced  cutting  down  his 
woods  for  the  supply  of  the  army,  and  at  the  same  time  to  burn  up  his  fencing, 
"which  they  completely  accomplished.  "But,"  said  he,  "they  taught  me  the 
proper  time  to  cut  timber  to  make  it  last.  After  they  marched  off,  I  found 
many  trees  that  were  not  cut  into  cord  wood;  those  I  split  into  rails,  believing, 
at  the  same  time,  they  would  soon  decay,  from  their  being  cut  in  the  spring — 
but  I  have  been  agreeably  disappointed — most  of  them  are  as  sound  now  as 
■when  made  into  fence."  'This  he  related  five-and-twenty  or  thirty  years  after 
the  peace  of  '83. 


GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM.  ggi 

same  paper,  page  4,  is  a  communication  recommending  tiie 
month  of  August,  within  one  day  of  the  time  when  the  moon 
is  full,  as  the  best  period  for  cutting  all  kinds  of  oak.  But  it 
is  urged,  in  order  to  guard  \i  from  decay,  to  immerse  the  wood 
immediately  after  it  is  cut  and  split  to  the  dimensions  required, 
in  lime  and  water,  in  which  it  is  to  remain  a  year,  affording 
time  for  the  particles  of  lime  to  penetrate  the  pores  of  the 
wood.  This  lime  water  is  to  be  frequently  agitated.  This 
process  requires  a  vat,  which  may  be  sunk  in  the  ground  at 
little  expense.  The  water  and  lime  should  be  of  the  consistence 
of  white  wash.  If  the  durability  of  the  timber  is  promoted 
by  this  process,  it  is  evidently  owing  to  the  antiseptic  quality 
of  the  lime  water  with  which  it  is  saturated,  and  not  to  the 
mere  circumstance  of  cutting  the  timber  in  August. 

The  Editor  of  the  Genesee  Farmer,  and  a  host  of  his  corre- 
spondents, recommend  cutting  timber  in  the  winter,  as  its 
durability  depends  upon  its  being  cut  when  free  from  sap. 
Joshua  Howard  says,  that  from  twenty  years  experience  in 
the  preservation  of  timber,  the  best  time  to  cut  it  to  ensure 
durability,  is  when  the  tree  is  in  its  greatest  vigour,  which, 
in  the  latitude  of  his  residence,  Dearbornville,  N.  Y.,  is  about 
the  middle  of  June.  He  cites  a  case  in  which  a  man  was  con- 
vinced against  his  will.  A  farmer  in  North  Carolina  wishing 
to  fence  a  certain  lot,  went  to  work  according  to  the  old  theory, 
and  cut  his  rail  timber  during  the  full  of  the  moon  in  February. 
When  he  came  in  May  to  put  up  his  fence,  he  w^as  deficient 
about  forty  panels;  he  went  into  the  woods,  cut  the  requisite 
quantity,  and  put  it  up  as  the  only  alternative.  Ten  or  twelve 
years  afterward  on  examining  the  fence,  he  was  exceedingly 
surprised  to  find  that  the  rails  cut  and  split  in  May,  were  in- 
finitely more  sound  than  those  cut  and  prepared  in  February. 
There  are  thousands  of  similar  cases. 

A  great  variety  of  plans  have  been  proposed  for  the  preser- 
vation of  timber.  The  late  Samuel  Preston,  of  Stockport, 
Pa.,  was  satisfied  from  experience,  that  posts  set  with  the  top 
part  in  the  ground,  will  last  from  three  to  four  times  as  long  as 
when  they  are  set  with  the  butt  ends  down.  Daniel  Long- 
sTRETH  says  that  penstocks  and  other  timbers  exposed  to  wet 
or  dampness  near  the  water-wheel,  are  placed  by  many  mill- 
wrights with  the  top  end  downwards,  as  they  are  found  to 
be  more  durable  than  when  placed  in  a  difierent  position. 
Charring  posts  has  been  strongly  recommended  and  extensive- 
ly practiced,  without,  however,  answering  fully  the  expecta- 
tion of  its  advocates.  I'Vood  tar  has  been  recorded  as  a  pre- 
servative of  timber.  A  correspondent  of  the  Farmer's  (Va. ) 
Register,  cites  several  very  interesting  cases,  which  go  to  prove 
24* 


282  GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 

that  posts  cut  and  put  in  the  ground  green  will  remain  perfect- 
ly sound  many  years  after  well  seasoned  posts,  in  the  same 
line  of  fence,  in  the  same  soil,  and  put  in  at  the  same  time, 
have  entirely  decayed.  We  need,  however,  further  experi- 
ments on  all  these  points. 


II.    STONE  FENCES. 

Where  suitable  materials  abound,  or  may  be  easily  obtain- 
ed, stone  fences,  properly  constructed,  are  to  be  recommended 
over  all  others.  They  are  perfect  from  the  day  of  their  erec- 
tion, are  easily  kept  in  repair,  and  should  any  portion  fall,  the 
materials  remain  on  the  spot.  The  saving  of  land  is  great,  as 
the  plough  might  and  ought  to  pass  close  to  the  wall.  The 
expense  of  erection  must  vary  according  to  circumstances.  I 
have  had,  says  a  correspondent  of  the  Farmer's  Cabinet,  the 
work  done  for  two  dollars  a  perch,  of  twenty -two  feet  in  length 
by  six  feet  in  height,  quarrying  the  stone  and  carrying  included, 
while  in  some  situations  I  have  giventhreetimes  that  sum  for  the 
same  work.*  Although  it  may  not  be  practicable  to  enclose  the 
whole  farm  at  first,  still,  if  the  materials  are  at  hand,  they  may 
be  carried  at  leisure  times,  or  whenever  opportunity  offers,  to 
the  line  of  the  intended  fence,  there  deposited,  to  be  put  up 
when  sufficient  for  the  erection  of  but  a  single  perch  at  a  time. 
The  work  by  this  means  would  be  accomplished  sooner  than 
could  be  imagined — once  and  forever.  A  stone  fence  should 
never  be  erected  on  the  surface,  whatever  may  be  its  character 
or  situation;  it  should  have  a  good  and  dry  foundation,  sunk 
entirely  beneath  the  influence  of  frost. 

Professor  Low  gives  the  following  description  of  the  me- 
thod adopted  in  Scotland  for  erecting  stone  fences.  He  recom- 
mends building  on  the  surface  or  greensward  if  it  is  fine.  This 
practice  may  answer  for  Scotland  and  England,  but  it  will  not 
suit  this  country,  especially  the  middle  and  northern  states. 

The  stone  wall  may  either  be  formed  of  stones  built  without  cement,  or  it 
may  be  built  with  mortar  like  common  masonry. — But  the  last  of  these  me- 
thods is  rarely  practised  with  the  common  fences  of  a  farm. — The  cementing 
of  the  stones  with  mortar,  adds,  indeed,  to  the  durability  of  the  Avail,  but  then 
the  expense  is  generally  too  great  in  common  cases.  The  wall,  therefore,  for 
the  ordinary  purposes  of  the  farm,  may  generally  be  built  of  stones  alone, 
though  sometimes  with  a  little  mortar  merely  for  cementing  the  coping,  and 
occasionally  for  pinning  or  closing  the  interstices  of  the  outside. 

The  materials  for  building  the  dry  stone  wall,  as  this  kind  of  wall  is  termed, 
may  be  saad-stone,  whin-stone,  or  any  other  stone  of  sufficient  durability. 

*  Four  and  a  half  to  five  and  a  half  feet,  with  a  good  coping,  will  be  found 
suliiciently  high. 


GENERAL  ECONOMY  OP  THE  FARM. 


283 


Loose  stones  taken  from  the  surface,  termed  land-stones,  answer  sufficiently 
■well,  if  they  be  of  proper  size,  and  not  too  much  rounded;  but  in  the  latter 
easel  they  present  too  smooth  a  surface,  and  cannot  be  kept  in  their  places 
Avithout  mortar. 

The  implements  to  be  used  in  building  the  dry-stone  wall  are,  a  mason's 
hammer,  a  spade  or  shovel  for  clearing  the  ground  for  a  foundation,  a  pick  or 
mattock,  and  a  frame  of  two  upright  posts  fixed  together,  so  as  to  correspond 
with  a  vertical  section  of  a  portion  of  the  wall,  (Fig.  40.) 


Fig.  40. 

The  line  of  the  intended  fence  being  fixed  upon  and  marked  on  the  ground, 
the  stones  for  building  should  be  brought  forward,  and  laid  down  on  both 
sides,  if  possible,  of  the  line  offence,  but,  if  not,  on  one  side.  Pins  being  fixed 
in  the  centre  of  the  space  to  be  occupied  by  the  wall,  the  workman  proceeds 
thus: — He  carries  his  wooden  frame  to  some  distance  along  the  line  to  be  built 
upon;  he  sets  it  perpendicular,  which  he  is  enabled  to  do  by  means  of  a  plumb- 
line  attached  lo  it,  and  he  fixes  it  in  this  position  in  asimple  manner  as  shown 
in  the  figure.  He  then  fixes  another  similar  frame  at  the  place  where  thewall 
is  to  commence;  he  stretches  two  cords  between  these  two  frames  on  the  out- 
side, and  as  these  cords  correspond  with  the  outside  of  the  wall  at  a  given 
he'ght,  he  has  a  guide  for  building  it  of  the  required  dimensions.  After 
having  built  one  portion,  he  uses  only  one  frame,  the  wall  itself  serving  after- 
wards the  part  of  a  frame:  for  the  cords  being  fixed  to  both  sides  of  the  wall, 
and  then  attached  to  the  frame  which  is  placed  in  advance,  the  workman  has, 
as  before,  a  guide  by  which  he  proceeds  in  building. 

The  foundation  of  the  wall  should  be  laid  on  firm 
ground,  and  when  there  is  not  greensward  to  build 
upon,  the  loose  earth  should  be  taken  out  by  the  spade, 
until  a  solid  foundation  is  arrived  at.    In  building,  the 
largest  and  flattest  stones  should  be  used  for  the  foun- 
dation; and  it  is  very  desirable,  if  the  materials  used 
will  allow,  to  place  stones  at  intervals,  of  sufficient  size 
to  lie  across  the  breadth  of  the  wall,  so  as  to  bind  the 
wall  together  and  render  it  more  secure.  (Fig.  41.)  Dif- 
ferent kinds  of  coping  may  be  placed  upon  the  wall,  to 
defend  it;  one  of  these  consists  merely  of 
turf,  two  sods  being  laid  upon  the  wall, 
with  the  earthy  sides  placed  towards  each 
other.   Another  species  of  coping  consists 
of  large  stones,  which  being  closely  built 
and  wedged  together,  are  cemented  by 
mortar.     This  is  a  complete  and  durable 
species  of  coping,  but  when  it  is  used,  a 
row  of  flat  stones  should  be  laid  on  the  top 
of  the  wall  immediately  beneath  the  cop- 
ing and  made  to  project  a  little  on  each 
side  of  it.    (Fig.  42.) 

A  wall  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  the 
farm  may  be  32  inches  wide  at  bottom,  and 

including  the  coping  4  J  feet  high,  and  two     ^ ^  ^ 

good  cart  loads  of  stones  will  suffice  for  '    . 

building  a  yard.  Fig.  42. 


/"vxV-rr-. 


284  GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 

The  following  is  said  to  be  the  best  system  as  yet  adopted  in 
the  state  of  New  York  for  the  erection  of  stone  fences;  it  is 
highly  recommended,  having  received  the  sanction  of  many 
eminent  farmers,  and  among  them  the  Editor  of  the  Cultivator, 
from  which  Journal  we  extract  the  account. 

Where  stones  abound  upon  a  farm,  and  require  to  be  taken 
oflf  the  field  to  facilitate  the  tillage,  it  is  no  doubt  economical 
to  work  them  into  stone  fences,  and  the  sooner  the  better,  as 
by  it  an  incumbrance  is  removed  and  a  substantial  fence  erect- 
ed. The  economy  of  making  stone  fences  in  other  cases,  will 
depend  on  the  scarcity  or  price  of  other  materials  for  dead 
fences,  or  the  facility  of  getting  stone.  These  circumstances 
will  vary  on  almost  every  farm,  and  must  become  matters  of 
individual  calculation.  But  all  experience  teaches,  that  when 
stone  walls  are  to  be  made,  there  is  economy  in  the  long  run 
in  making  them  well,  that  is,  in  making  them  so  that  they  shall 
prove  an  efficient  barrier  to  farm  stock,  and  out  last  the  maker 
of  them.  If  they  are  not  efficient  and  durable  they  become  a 
source  of  incalculable  trouble  and  expense.  The  damage  to 
crops  and  the  expense  of  frequent  repairs,  to  say  nothing  of 
their  unsightly  appearance,  will  soon  overbalance  the  cost  of 
building  them  well  in  the  outset.  "What  you  do,  do  well,"  is 
a  maxim  that  will  apply  with  particular  force  to  this  branch  of 
farm  improvement. 

The  material  necessary  for  a  good  wall  is  flat  stones;  the  re- 
quisites to  ensure  durability  are,  a  substantial  foundation,  which 
■will  give  equally  to  pressure  or  frosts — a  sufficient  base  to 
sustain  the  superstructure — a  coping  and  a  good  workman: 
and  to  render  them  efficient  they  should  be  four  and  a  half  or 
five  feet  high,  either  entirely  of  stone,  or  crowned  with  a  suffi- 
cient wooden  structure.  If  the  mass  of  stone  are  not  flat,  or 
rather,  if  they  are  all  round,  they  will  not  stay  long  in  their 
place  without  a  broad  base  and  great  slope  upon  the  exterior 
surface.  Round  stones  should  be  only  used  in  what  are  de- 
nominated half  w^alls,  and  which  are  to  be  crowned  with  wood. 
If  the  foundation  gives  unequally,  the  structure  of  the  wall  will 
soon  be  deranged  and  part  of  it  will  fall.  A  prudent  way  is 
to  base  it  upon  the  hard  part  or  sub-soil,  by  clearing  off"  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  Stone  walls,  unless  laid  in  lime,  which  by 
the  bye  is  an  excellent  practice,  particularly  about  farm  build- 
ings where  the  expense  can  be  afforded,  should  incline  inwards 
from  the  base  to  the  coping.  The  slope  should  be  an  inch  in 
a  foot;  and  if  the  wall  is  five  feet  high,  and  twelve  inches  broad 
at  top,  it  should  be  two  feet  broad  at  bottom.  The  coping, 
which  consists  of  broad  stones  extending  across  the  top,  tends, 
by  its  weight  and  its  bond,  to  keep  the  materials  in  place. 


GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM.  285 

Heavy  stones  of  suitable  size  should  be  reserved  for  this  use. 
But  even  with  good  materials,  a  good  foundation,  and  a  broad 
base,  a  stone  wall  will  not  be  permanent,  unless  the  stones  are 
properly  placed  so  as  to  constitute  a  bond,  and  prevent  their 
falling  piecemeal.  The  construction  of  a  wall  of  stone  or 
brick  demands  an  observance  of  the  same  professional  rules  of 
structure,  whether  it  be  intended  for  fence  or  a  dwelling.  The 
breaking  of  joints,  both  lengthwise  and  across,  which  we  de- 
nominate the  bond,  constitutes  the  main  strength  of  the  struc- 
ture. There  are  three  modes  of  constructing  stone  fences  in 
common  use. — 1.  Where  the  material  is  abundant,  and  where 
the  whole  structure  is  to  be  of  stone — such  should  be  five  feet 
high,  two  feet  broad  at  bottom,  and  one  foot  at  top,  which  will 
allow  a  flare  of  one  inch  to  the  foot  on  each  surface.  2.  Where 
the  materials  of  the  fence  are  to  be  part  stone  and  part  wood, 
which  is  sometimes  termed  half  wall  fence — in  constructing  this, 
posts  are  first  set  in  the  line  at  proper  distances,  the  wall  is 
then  built  two  and  a  half  or  three  feet  high,  and  boards  nailed 
to  the  posts  above  the  required  height,  or  two  rails  added, 
holes  for  which  should  be  made  in  the  posts  previous  to  their 
being  put  down.  The  posts  serve  to  steady  and  preserve  the 
wall;  and  they  should  be  of  durable  materials,  as  cedar,  locust, 
&c.,  as  their  situation  subjects  them  to  rapid  decay.  Another 
mode  is  to  insert  three  foot  posts  into  pieces  of  stout  plank  or 
blocks  of  wood,  to  be  worked  into  the  wall  one  and  a  half  or 
two  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  to  close  the  wall 
over  them,  and  then  add  boards  or  rails  as  before.  3.  Wall 
with  riders.  This  is  built  of  any  convenient  heightj  of  stones; 
poles  or  rails  are  then  laid  lengthwise  upon  the  top;  stakes  to 
cross  are  inserted,  which  keep  the  poles  in  place,  and  sup- 
port other  poles  or  rails  placed  on  them,  which  completes  the 
structure. 


III.    UVE  FENCES  OR  HEDGES. 

For  many  years  past,  great  efforts  have  been  made  to  intro- 
duce live  hedges  or  fences,  in  place  of  those  of  timber  and 
stone.  Partial  success  has,  in  some  instances,  for  awhile,  flat- 
tered the  hopes  of  the  persevering  experimenter;  but  in  gene- 
ral, the  efforts  have  resulted  in  failure.  The  introduction  of 
the  English  thorn,  has  long  been  a  favourite  object  with  many 
gentlemen,*  and  we  cannot  conceive  why,  with  proper  man- 

*  Mr.  Caleb  Kirk,  of  Delaware,  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  advocates  of 


286  GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 

agement,  they  would  not  attain  the  same  degree  of  perfection 
and  usefulness  in  the  southern  states  as  in  England.  They  are 
not  adapted  to  upland  regions.  In  the  choice  of  plants  for  a 
hedge,  the  influence  of  soil  and  climate  should  be  particularly 
considered,  as  upon  these  and  right  management,  more  than 
any  thing  else,  will  depend  the  success  or  failure.  We  should, 
therefore,  rely  more  upon  native  i\izx\  foreign  plants. 

That  we  have  a  variety  of  plants,  in  almost  every  section  of 
our  country,  well  adapted  to  all  the  purposes  of  hedging,  no 
douht  can  be  entertained.  Years  ago,  when  a  few  individuals, 
bursting  the  shackles  of  prejudice,  set  themselves  earnestly  to 
work  to  improve  and  advance  the  agriculture  of  the  country 
generally,  this  was  one  of  the  first  subjects  that  claimed  their 
attention.  Numerous  experiments  were  made  in  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  and  more  especially  in  Virginia.  Fences 
of  native  as  well  as  of  foreign  plants  were  set  out;  and,  so  far 
as  we  have  been  able  to  gain  information,  the  advantage,  as 
regards  durability  and  use,  was  in  favour  of  the  native  plant, 
portions  of  which  are  now  standing. 

The  question  which  will  naturally  arise  in  the  mind  of  the 
reader,  taking  the  statement  to  be  correct,  will  be,  "why  is  it 
that  these  fences  do  not  abound  over  the  whole  country — I 
never  saw  one?"  The  answer  is  simple — it  is  to  be  found  in 
the  character  and  spirit  of  our  countrymen.  Almost  every 
thing  of  importance  that  has  been  accomplished  in  this  great 
country,  has  been  on  the  "high-pressure  principle."  The  early 
advocates  of  agricultural  improvements,  among  whom  we  find 
a  Washington,  a  Jefferson,  a  Peters,  a  Livingston,  a 
Pickering,  a  Lincoln,  a  Taylor,  a  Garnett,*  a  Cooper,  a 
Bordley,  a  Lorain,  a  Worth,  and  many  other  illustrious 
men,  were  not  sustained  by  the  great  mass  of  the  people — for 
whose  benefit,  and  not  their  own,  they  laboured.  In  this  case, 
those  farmers,  we  presume,  who  were  induced,  or,  perhaps, 
persuaded  by  its  friends  to  turn  their  attention  to  this  subject, 
did  not  expect  too  great,  but  too  immediate  results.  This 
is  the  rock  on  which  thousands  fail.  Lacking  persevering  pa-, 
tience,  they  become  lukewarm  in  an  enterprise — lose  their 
interest,  after  which,  total  neglect,  if  not  absolute  disgust, 
ensues. 

Among  the  variety  of  native  plants,  the  red  cedar  was  the 

this  system  of  fencing.  He  laboured  long  and  diligently,  and  was,  we  believe, 
more  successful  than  any  other  gentleman,  in  raising  live  hedges  of  the  Eng- 
lish thorn.  The  country  is  greatly  indebted  to  him  for  his  persevering  and 
praiseworthy  efforts. 

*  Mr.  Garnett  is  still  opposed,  as  he  has  ever  been,  to  the  introduction  of 
live  hedges.  His  zeal  in  the  cause  of  agriculture  has  increased  with  his  years. 
His  efforts  indicate  all  the  vigour  of  youth. 


GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM.  287 

most  conspicuous,  as  it  was  probably  the  most  valuable.  The 
late  Col.  John  Taylor,  of  Caroline,  Va. ,  recommended  it  as 
answering  every  desirable  purpose.  With  proper  care  and 
attention,  a  hedge  of  great  beauty,  strength,  and  durability  may 
be  formed  of  the  cedar  in  about  seven  years  from  the  period  of 
planting. 

For  the  purpose  of  raising  a  nursery  of  cedar  plants,  let  the  berries  be  gathered 
in  November  and  December,  and  having  detached  the  resinous  substance  in 
which  the  seeds  are  enveloped,  as  far  as  practicable,  which  may  be  done  by- 
grubbing,  mix  them  with  unslaked  ashes,  in  which  let  them  remain  two 
weeks — then  plant  them  in  drills  after  the  manner  of  planting  peas— and,  if 
good,  they  will  vegetate  and  come  up  the  following  spring.  With  good  nurs- 
ing, they  will  be  fit  for  removal  into  a  hedge  in  two  years.  The  trenches  in 
which  they  are  to  be  placed  should  be  prepared  with  light  rich  earth.  The 
first  of  March  is  the  proper  lime  for  planting  them.  When  the  plants  have 
attained  the  height  of  three  feet,  the  trimming  should  commence;  the  best  time 
for  which  is  the  middle  of  summer.  The  more  thoroughly  the  seeds  are 
cleansed,  and  the  earlier  the  plants  are  set  out  in  the  spring  the  better. — Far- 
mcr's  Guide. 

Colonel  Taylor's  method  of  planting  the  cedar  hedge. — From  December  to 
the  middle  of  March,  the  smallest  plants  are  to  be  taken  up  in  a  sod  of  a  square 
conformable  to  the  size  of  the  spade  used,  as  deep  as  possible,  which  sod  is  to 
be  deposited  unbroken  in  a  hole  as  deep,  made  by  a  similar  spade,  the  earth 
being  used  to  fill  up  the  crevices  between  the  sod  and  the  hole  for  its  reception. 
I  plant  these  cedars  on  the  out  and  inside  of  a  straight  fence,  on  the  ridge  of  a 
ditch,  the  plants  in  each  row  being  two  feet  apart,  both  in  the  direction  of  and 
across  this  ridge,  but  so  that  the  plants  on  one  side  of  the  fence  will  be  oppo- 
site to  the  centre  of  the  vacancies  between  those  on  the  other.  They  should 
be  topped  at  a  foot  high,  and  not  suffered  to  gain  more  than  four  inches  yearly 
in  height,  such  boughs  or  branches  excepted  as  can  be  worked  into  the  fence 
at  the  ground.  Of  these  great  use  may  be  made  in  thickening  the  hedge  by 
bending  them  to  the  ground  and  covering  them  well  with  earth  in  the  middle, 
leaving  them  growing  to  the  stem  and  their  extremities  exposed — thus  they 
invariably  take  root  and  fill  up  gaps.  If  properly  cultivated,  and  the  land  is 
strong,  they  will  form  an  elegant  live  ever-green  fence  in  a  shorter  time  than 
is  necessary  to  raise  a  thorn  fence  in  England. —  Taylor's  Avalor,  third  edition, 
page  174.  Several  years  after  the  above  was  written  and  published,  Mr. 
Taylor  says,  in  a  note  on  the  subject,  "my  experiments  in  cedar-hedging 
have  become  two  or  three  years  olcler,  and  have  removed  every  doubt  of  its 
cheapness,  practicability  and  importance." 

When  speaking  of  live-hedge,  the  English  thorn,  hawthorn, 
or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  quick,  is  generally  understood. 
We  have  already  adverted  to  its  introduction  in  this  country, 
and  can  only  refer  in  brief  terms  to  its  management.  A  proper 
choice  of  plants  is  of  vast  importance.  The  hawthorn  is  readilv 
produced  from  the  seeds  of  its  fruit,  is  best  raised  in  the  nursery, 
and  in  two  years  transplanted  from  the  seed  bud,  in  the  line 
of  the  fence.  The  preparation  of  the  soil  is  a  point  of  the  first 
importance;  as  it  will  constitute  in  many  cases  the  difference 
between  success  and  failure.  The  ground  on  the  line  of  the 
fence  should  undergo  a  complete  preparation  by  deep  and 
effectual  ploughing,  or  trenching  with  the  spade,  and  by  a 
thorough  manuring.  Where  a  quantity  of  vegetable  matter  is 
present  in  the  soil,  lime  may  be  used — but  where  the  soil  is 
poor,  both  lime  and  dung  should  be  applied. 


288  GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 

The  line  of  fence  being  determined,  it  is  laid  off  b}-  means  of  poles  like  the 
ridges  of  a  field,  and  marked  upon  the  gi  ound.  The  line  of  the  side  of  the 
ditch  along  which  the  thorns  are  to  be  set,  being  marked  out  by  the  rod  and 
line,  and  notched  by  the  spade,  the  workman  takes  off  a  part  of  the  earth  from 
the  surface  of  the  intended  ditch,  and  lays  it  along  the  future  line  of  thorns, 
about  six  inches  back  of  the  notched  line.  This  forms  what  is  called  a  scarce- 
menf.  He  then  beats  down  the  earth  or  sods  thus  laid  with  his  spade,  so  that 
the  outer  surface  shall  be  in  the  line  of  the  future  mound,  sloping  a  little  back- 
ward. It  is  upon  the  row  of  earth  or  sods  thus  placed,  technically  called  the 
thorn-bed,  that  the  thorns  to  be  planted  are  laid.  A  further  portion  of 
the  surface  of  the  ditch  is  then  stripped  off  and  thrown  behind  the  thorn-bed. 
The  plants,  the  stems  of  which  are  generally  eight  inches  high,  exclusive  of 
the  root,  are  to  be  placed  firmly  upon  the  thorn-bed,  so  that  when  the  mound 
is  made,  they  may  project  a  very  little  beyond  the  surface,  or  rather  just  reach 
it.  The  distance  at  which  they  may  be  planted  from  one  another,  is  about 
eight  inches.  While  one  or  more  persons  are  engaged  in  laying  the  thorns, 
another  is  to  shovel  up  from  the  ditch  the  loose  mould  immediately  next  the 
surface,  and  place  it  upon  the  stems  of  the  plants.  This  earth  being  com- 
pressed by  the  foot,  the  plants  will  be  firmly  fixed  in  their  position.  The  ditch 
is  cleared  out  to  its  full  depth,  and  the  earth  thrown  upon  the  bank.  The 
mound  is  then  to  be  rounded  at  the  top,  and  beat  all  around  by  the  shovel;  and 
this  process  completes  the  formation  of  the  hedge  and  ditch.  The  ditch  should 
be  narrowed  to  a  spade-breadth  at  bottom,  and  so  laid  out  as  to  permit  the 
regular  descent  of  water.  The  sides  may  be  made  to  slope  at  an  angle  of  45®. 
The  proper  time  for  planting  is  from  October  to  the  beginning  of  March,  or 
while  vegetation  is  inert. — Professor  Lov}'s  Elements. 

In  the  ofie?^  culture  of  the  hedge,  which  must  be  rigidly- 
attended  to,  for  the  first  four  or  five  years  especially,  the  appli- 
cation of  new  and  rich  earth  to  the  roots,  thorough  weeding 
and  loosening  the  earth  of  the  mound,  which  is  apt  to  becoine 
baked  and  hard,  must  not  be  overlooked — neglect,  in  this 
case,  would  be  fatal.  Obstructions  should  also,  whenever  they 
present  themselves,  be  immediately  removed,  so  that  the 
passage  of  water  may  not  be  interrupted.  The  value  and 
beauty  of  the  hedge,  depends  in  a  great  degree  upon  the 
management  of  it  while  in  its  young  and  tender  state.  The 
greatest  possible  care  and  judgment  is  to  be  exercised  in  prun- 
ing. LouDox  says,  that  from  the  first  year  of  planting  till  the 
hedge  has  risen  to  five  or  six  feet  in  height,  the  main  stems 
ought  to  be  left  untouched,  and  the  pruning  confined  solely  to 
the  side  branches,  leaving  those  next  the  root  pretty  long,  and 
gradually  tapering  towards  the  top. 

We  have  now  described  the  elementary  species  of  the  live 
or  hedge  fence,  which  is  the  base  or  foundation  of  all  the 
others.  There  are  also  coraji ound  fences,  the  principaUa'nd 
most  efiicient  of  which  is  the  stone  wall  and  live  fence  com- 
bined. But  as  it  is  not  likely  to  be  of  much  practical  service, 
the  description  is  omitted,  as  well  as  the  description  of  palings 
and  ornamental  fences. 


GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 


289 


IV.    GATES. 


Another  point  to  be  considered  in  relation  to  the  fence  is 
the  gate,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a  moveable  portion.  The 
properties  of  a  good  gate  are  that  it  shall  combine  with  light- 
ness the  necessary  strength,  so  that  an  equal  quantity  of  mate- 
rials shall  produce  the  strongest  gate.  The  absolute  strength 
of  materials  depends  on  their  hardness  and  tenacity.  A  neat 
and  substantial  gate,  sufficient  for  all  necessary  purposes,  may 
consist  of  a  set  of  horizontal  bars,  firmly  bound  together,  and 
placed  at  such  distances  as  to  prevent  the  passage  of  animals. 

The  following  figure  represents  a  gate  with  five  horizontal 
bars,  well  secured  and  rendered  firm  by  a  diagonal  bar,  pro- 
jecting from  the  lower  to  the  upper  corner,  with  an  upright 
brace  in  the  centre,  but  on  the  opposite  side.  The  following 
description  of  an  excellent  gate,  but  of  simple  and  cheap  con- 
struction, is  by  Professor  Low. 


"The  gate  may  be  hung  on  two  hinges— or  the  heel  of  the  gate  may  rest  in 
a  socket  placed  iii  the  ground.  The  bars,  by  tapering  towards  the  fore-part, 
diminish  the  tendency  of  that  part  to  sink.  When  a  gate  sinks  at  the  head,  it 
may  be  considered  as  a  bended  lever,  of  which  the  fulcrnm  is  at  B,  the  power  at 
C,  and  the  weight  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  gate,  which,  in  case  of  its  being 
of  uniform  materials,  will  be  represented  on  the  lower  bar  at  A.  Hence,  by 
increasing  the  length  of  B  C  in  proportion  to  B  A,  the  power  of  the  hinge  at 
C  to  support  the  weight  of  the  gate  is  increased.  This  power  is  further  in- 
creased, when  the  gate  is  made  heavier  at  its  posterior  part,  so  as  to  bring  the 
centre  of  gravity  nearer  to  B.  In  practice,  therefore,  the  hinges  should  be  kept 
at  as  great  a  distance  from  each  other  as  possible,  and  the  gate  should  be  made 
light  towards  its  anterior  part." 

In  the  figure,  five  horizontal  and  two  upright  bars  at  the  ex- 
tremities are  shown — into  these  two  outer  upright  bars,  the 
horizontal  bars  are  secured  firml}*^  by  morticing.  The  diagonal 
brace  from  the  higher  to  the  lower  corner,  consists  of  a  plank 
of  suitable  dimensions.  The  horizontal  bars  taper  from  the 
hinderpart  to  the  forepart.  The  length  of  the  gate  may  be 
nine  feet,  the  height  over  the  horizontal  bars  four  feet,  the 
lower  bar  standing  about  six  inches  from  the  ground.     The 

9t 


290  GENERAL  ECONOMY  OF  THE  FARM. 

length,  height,  &c.  of  the  gate  may  be  varied  to  suit  circum- 
stances— but  the  proportions  should  be  preserved. 

The  posts  may  consist  of  wood,  well  sunk  in  the  ground — 
any  coarse  timber  of  sufficient  strength  and  durability  may  be 
employed.  But  we  would  earnestly  recommend  in  every  case 
where  they  can  be  obtained,  single  stones  of  granite,  green- 
stone, or  any  harder  rock  that  can  be  fashioned  into  the  shape 
of  a  pillar.  The  band  of  the  hinge  should  pass  through  the 
wood  or  stone,  as  shewn  in  the  figure,  and  firmly  fixed  by  a  bolt 
or  screw  nut  on  the  opposite  side.  The  band  of  the  latch  and 
hinge  should  in  like  manner  pass  through  the  post  or  stone 
pillar,  and  be  fixed  by  a  screw  nut. 

The  latch  may  be  of  various  forms.  That  shewn  in  the 
figure  is  a  spring  two  feet  in  length,  to  which  at  right  angles 
is  fixed  a  piece  of  iron  which  passes  through  the  upright  bar 
of  the  gate.  This  piece  of  iron,  by  means  of  two  joints,  acts 
as  a  lever  when  the  hand  is  placed  upon  it,  and  withdraws  the 
latch. 

All  the  mortices  of  a  gate,  and  the  parts  at  which  the  diago- 
nal and  braces  cross  the  bars,  should  be  carefully  coated  with 
white  lead — and  after  the  parts  of  the  gate  are  joined  together, 
the  whole  should  receive  two  efficient  coats  of  good  oil  paint. 
Gates  are  sometimes,  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  so  hung  as 
to  shut  of  themselves  when  opened.  We  should  think  it  best 
to  have  the  hinges  move  in  a  socket;  as  they  are  more  firmly 
supported,  and  can  be  made  to  move  more  smoothly  by  occa- 
sionally introducing  into  the  socket  a  small  portion  of  oil. 


291 


XVI.— THE  DAIRY. 

Dairy  is  the  term  universally  applied  to  the  place  where  the 
milk  of  cows  is  kept  and  converted  into  butter  or  cheese,  or  both. 
The  operation  is  called  dairying — and  land,  the  major  part  of 
which  is  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of  cows  for  this  purpose,  is 
called  a  dairy-farm.  The  dairy-house,  if  properly  constructed, 
will  consist  of  three  apartments,  (which  will  be  noticed,  briefly, 
however,  hereafter,)  viz:  one  for  milk;  another  for  butter  in 
churning;  or  for  scalding,  pressing,  and  salting  cheese;  and  a 
third  for  implements — over  which,  in  cheese  dairies,  a  store- 
room may  be  placed,  if  deemed  necessary. 

In  the  practice  of  the  dairy  in  this  country,  milk  may  be 
consumed  in  three  ways.  The  first  is  in  the  form  of  milk  for 
food — and  this  is  the  most  profitable,  where,  from  the  nearness 
of  the  market,  and  the  demand  for  the  produce,  it  can  be 
adopted.  In  the  vicinity  of  cities  and  large  towns,  dairies  are 
formed  merely  for  the  production  of  milk;  these  usually  form 
the  largest  class  of  dairy  establishments.  But  the  sale  of  milk 
in  its  fresh  state,  is  necessarily  limited  to  a  certain  circle  around 
the  different  markets  of  consumption. 

The  next,  and  most  profitable  production  of  the  dairy,  is 
butter  in  a  fresh  state.  This  circle  is  more  extended  than  that 
of  milk  alone,  because  butter  can  be  preserved  longer,  and  con- 
veyed to  a  much  greater  distance.  At  a  greater  distance  still 
the  produce  consists  of  cheese,  and  sometimes  cheese  and  but- 
ter— when  the  latter  is  produced  it  is  put  down  in  tubs  and 
firkins,  and  salted  for  preservation.  We  believe  that  in  this 
country,  the  combined  production  of  cheese  and  butter,  is  at- 
tended to  in  nearly  if  not  all  our  dairies. 

Milk  is  a  fluid  secreted  by  the  female  of  all  those  animals 
denominated  Mammalia — and  intended  evidently  for  the  nour- 
ishment of  their  offspring.  The  milk  of  every  animal  has 
certain  peculiarities  which  distinguishes  it  from  every  other 
milk.  The  milk  of  the  cow  is  most  used  by  man  as  an  article 
of  food,  and  consequently  more  particularly  claiming  their 
attention.  Chemists,  therefore,  have  made  choice  of  it  for 
their  experiments.  Milk  is  an  opaque  fluid,  of  a  whitish  colour, 
a  slight  peculiar  smell,  and  a  pleasant,  sweetish  taste.  When 
newly  drawn  from  the  cow,  it  has  a  taste  very  difierent  from 
that  which  it  acquires  after  it  has  been  kept  for  some  hours. 

Cream  is  a  thick,  unctuous,  yellowish  coloured  substance, 
which  collects  on  the  surface  of  milk,  when  it  (the  milk)  is 


292  THE  DAIRY. 

permitted  to  remain  for  some  time  at  rest.  After  the  cream 
is  separated  the  remaining  milk  is  of  a  hluish-white  colour,  and 
is  much  thinner  than  it  was  before.  If  it  be  heated  to  the  tem- 
perature of  100°,  and  a  little  rennet,  which  is  w^ater  digested 
with  the  inner  coat  of  a  calf's  stomach,  preserved  with  salt,  be 
added  to  it,  coagulation  ensues;  and  if  the  coagulum  be  broken, 
the  milk  very  soon  separates  into  two  substances;  a  solid  white 
part  known  by  the  name  of  curd,  and  a  fluid  part  called  whey. 
Thus  we  see  that  milk  may  be  easily  separated  into  three  parts, 
namely — cream,  curd,  and  whey. 

Cream  cheese. — Cream  gradually  increases  in  consistence 
by  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  In  three  or  four  days  it  be- 
comes so  thick  that  the  vessel  which  contains  it  may  be  in- 
verted without  risking  any  loss.  In  eight  or  ten  days  more 
its  surface  is  covered  over  with  mucus  and  byssi,  and  it  has 
no  longer  the  flavour  of  cream,  but  of  very  fat  cheese.  This 
is  the  process  for  making  what  in  this  country  is  called  cream 
cheese. 

Cream  possesses  many  of  the  properties  of  an  oil.  It  is 
specifically  lighter  than  water;  it  has  an  unctuous  feel,  staining 
cloths  precisely  in  the  manner  of  oil;  and  if  it  be  kept  fluid,  it 
contracts  a  taste  very  analogous  to  the  rancidity  of  oils. 

These  properties  are  sufficient  to  show  us  that  it  contains  a 
quantity  of  oil;  but  this  oil  is  combined  with  a  part  of  the  curd, 
and  mixed  with  some  serum.  Cream,  then,  is  composed  of  a 
peculiar  oil,  curd,  and  serum.  The  oil  may  be  easily  obtained 
separate  by  agitating  the  cream  for  a  considerable  time.  This 
process  is  usuall}'^  called  churning.  The  continuance  of  this 
operation  for  a  sufficient  time  causes  the  cream  to  separate  into 
two  portions:  one  fluid,  and  resembling  creamed  milk,  called 
butter-milk, — the  other  solid,  and  called  butter. 

Butter  is  of  a  yelloiv  colour,  possessing  the  properties  of 
an  oil,  and  mixes  readily  with  other  oily  bodies.  When  heated 
to  the  temperature  of  96°  it  melts  and  becomes  transparent;  if 
it  be  kept  for  some  time  melted,  some  curd  and  w^hey  separates 
from  it,  and  it  assumes  exactly  the  appearance  of  oil.  When 
butter  is  kept  for  a  certain  time,  it  becomes  rancid,  owing  in  a 
good  measure  to  the  presence  of  these  foreign  ingredients;  for 
if  butter  be  w^ell  washed,  and  a  great  portion  of  these  matters 
separated,  it  does  not  become  rancid  near  so  soon.  Butter  may 
be  obtained  by  agitating  cream  newly  taken  from  milk;  or  even 
by  agitating  milk  newly  drawn  from  the  cow.  But  it  is  usual 
to  allow  cream  to  remain  for  some  time  before  it  is  churned. 
Now,  cream,  by  standing,  acquires  an  acid  taste;  butter,  there- 
fore, is  commonly  made  from  sour  cream.  Fresh  cream  re- 
quires longer  churning  before  it  yields  its  butter  than  sour 
cream  does;  consequently  cream  acquires,  by  being  kept  for 


THE  DAIRY.  293 

some  time,  new  properties,  in  consequence  of  which,  it  is 
more  easily  converted  into  butter,  which  in  all  cases  is  per- 
fectly sweet. 

The  affinity  of  the  oil  of  cream  for  the  other  ingredients  is 
such,  that  it  never  separates  completely  from  them.  Not  only 
is  curd  and  whey  always  found  in  the  cream,  but  some  of  this 
oil  is  constantly  found  in  creamed  milk,  and  even  in  whey  it 
has  been  ascertained  by  experiments  that  butter  may  be  ob- 
tained by  churning  whey.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
more  butter  may  be  obtained  from  the  same  quantity  of  milk, 
if  it  be  churned  as  drawn  from  the  cow,  than  when  the  cream 
alone  is  collected  and  churned. 

Curd,  which  may  be  separated  from  creamed  milk  by  ren- 
net, has  many  of  the  properties  of  coagulated  albumen.  It  is 
white  and  solid;  and  when  all  the  moisture  is  squeezed  out,  it 
has  a  good  deal  of  brittleness.  Curd  is  used  in  making  cheese, 
and  the  cheese  is  the  better  the  more  it  contains  of  cream,  or 
of  that  oily  matter  which  constitutes  cream.  It  is  known  to 
cheese-makers,  that  the  goodness  of  it  depends  in  a  great  mea- 
sure on  the  manner  of  separating  the  whey  from,  the  curd.  If 
the  milk  be  much  heated,  the  coagulum  broken  in  pieces,  and 
the  whey  forcibly  separated,  the  cheese  is  scarcely  good  for 
any  thing;  but  the  whey  is  delicious,  and  butter  may  be  ob- 
tained from  it  in  considerable  quantity.  Whereas,  if  the  milk 
be  not  too  much  heated,  (about  100°  is  sufficient,)  if  the  coagu- 
lum be  allowed  to  remain  unbroken,  and  the  whey  be  separated 
by  very  slow  and  gentle  pressure,  the  cheese  is  good. 

A  dairy,  more  especially  if  within  the  reach  of  a  ready  mar- 
ket, may  be  profitably  conducted  on  a  moderate  scale,  in  con- 
junction with  an  arable  farm;  as  a  small  portion  of  pasture 
land,  either  natural  or  artificial,  will  answer  every  useful  pur- 
pose in  connection  with  the  sugar-beet,  ruta-baga,  and  other 
roots,  which  are  easily  raised  in  great  abundance,  and  which, 
as  a  general  rule  in  the  hands  of  competent  persons,  not  only 
cause  an  increase  in  the  quantity,  but  also  a  great  improve- 
ment in  the  richness  and  flavour  of  the  milk  and  butter  pro- 
duced from  an  equal  number  of  cows.  The  dairy  business  is 
in  no  degree  hazardous,  if  it  is  conducted  as  it  should  be,  as 
well  as  all  other  departments  of  agriculture — on  sound  princi- 
ples.    The  market  is  subject  to  few  or  trifling  fluctuations. 

There  are  various  points  essential  to  the  successful  and  pro- 
fitable management  of  a  dairy.  A  few  only  of  the  most  promi- 
nent are  here  noticed.  1.  The  animals  should  be  of  a  good 
breed;  that  is,  kind  and  free  milkers.  2.  The  greatest  care 
and  attention  should  be  devoted  to  them  in  order  that  they 
may  be  kept  in  good  heart  and  condition.  3.  Suitable  build- 
25* 


294  "^HE  DAIRY. 

ings  and  implements  necessary  to  the  complete  and  perfect 
management  of  the  dairy.  4.  Skill,  and  the  utmost  cleanliness 
and  attention  on  the  part  of  those  persons,  (whether  proprie- 
tors or  hired  for  the  purpose,)  to  whom' the  business  may  be 
confided. 

As  regards  the  animal  best  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  the 
dairy,  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  prevails  among  gentlemen 
most  deeply  interested  in  the  subject.  Some  hold  the  short- 
horns, which  certainly  possess  many  excellent  points,  in  the 
highest  esteem;  while  others,  equally  competent  to  come  to 
correct  conclusions,  give  a  decided  preference  to  long-horns. 
The  fact  is,  there  are  good  and  bad  milkers  to  be  found  among 
all  breeds  of  cattle — and  this  difference  is  owing  to  a  great 
variety  of  causes.  It  is  of  great  importance  to  know  the 
temper  of  a  cow — it  may  appear  as  a  trifling  matter  at  first 
view,  yet,  from  our  experience,  we  regard  it  as  one  of  great 
importance.  A  cow  of  kindly  disposition,  gives  but  little  trouble 
in  her  management — parts  with  her  milk  readily  and  cheer- 
fully, and  yields  a  far  more  abundant  supply  than  one  of  an 
unruly  disposition.  A  farmer  ought  not  to  keep  an  unruly 
animal,  it  is  a  source  of  continual  vexation,  frequently  of  loss, 
beside  the  tendency  of  its  bad  example. 

Upon  the  form  and  qualifications  of  a  perfect  con-  ■we  refer  to  Mr.  Youatt,* 
merely  observing  that,  whatever  breed  may  be  selected,  there  is  a  wide  differ- 
ence between  the  form  of  one  meant  for  fattening,  and  that  intended  for  the 
dairy.t  "Thus,  while  the  former  should  have  all  the  best  points  of  the  ox,  as 
iiearl)^  as  possible,  the  milch  cow  should,  on  the  contrary,  have  a  long  thin 
head,  with  a  brisk  but  placid  eye — thin  and  hollow  in  the  neck — narrow  in  the 
breast  and  the  pomt  of  the  shoulder — altogether  light  in  the  fore-quarters — 
wide  in  the  loins — little  dewlap — neither  too  full  fleshed  along  the  chine,  nor 
shewing  in  any  part  an  indication  to  put  on  much  fat.  The  udder  should 
especially  be  large,  round  and  full,  with  the  milk  veins  protruding,  yet  thin 
skinned,  but  not  hanging  loose  or  tending  very  far  behind.  The  teats  should 
also  stand  square,  all  pointing  out  at  equal  distances,  and  of  the  same  size;  and 
although  neither  very  large  nor  thick  towards  the  udder,  yeX  long  and  taper- 
ing to  a  point.  A  cow  with  a  large  head,  a  high  back-bone,  a  small  udder 
and  teats,  and  drawn  up  in  the  belly,  will,  beyond  all  doubt,  be  found  a  bad 
milker."  The  hide  should  be  thin,  the  hair  fine  and  soft  to  the  touch,  and  the 
tail  small. 

The  most  desirable  qualities  of  a  dairy  cow  are,  that  she 
should  give  an  abundant  supply  of  milk,  and  that  of  a  rich  kind 
— that  she  should  be  perfectly  kind  and  docile,  and  readily 
yield  her  milk — fatten  easily.  But  it  would  appear  from  many 
unsuccessful  efforts,  that  the  properties  necessary  to  constitute 
a  good  dairy  cow,  and  those  necessary  to  fit  one  for  the  sham- 
bles, in  the  least  time  and  at  the  least  expense,  are  very  seldom 
united  or  combined  in  the  same  animal.     "Years  of  useless 

*  Author  of  the  popular  work  on  British  Cattle, 
t  British  Husbandry,  p.  397. 


THE  DAIRY.  995 

effort,  to  unite  these  two  irreconcileable  properties,  have  proved 
that  the  different  breeds  of  neat  cattle  have  not  hitherto  been 
brought  to  entire  perfection."  We  have  many  instances  on 
record,  in  which  our  native  cattle  have  proved  themselves  not 
only  very  superior  milkers,  as  regards  quantity  and  quality, 
but  that  when  put  up,  they  take  on  fat  equal  to  the  best  of 
imported  stock. 

The  pasture  and  other  food  best  adapted  for  coivs  as  it 
regards  their  milk,  are  merely  referred  to  here,  as  they  are 
treated  of  more  fully  under  their  respective  heads.*  The 
animal  should  be  suited  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil — and  as  re- 
marked in  the  article  on  grazing,  cattle  ought  not  to  be  brought 
from  superior  to  inferior  pastures — for  instances  have  occurred 
in  which  six  cows  fed  on  some  pastures,  have  yielded  as  much 
milk  as  nine  or  even  twelve  will  afford  on  inferior  ground. 

The  food,  of  whatever  kind,  should  be  well  prepared,  and 
administered  at  regular  intervals.  On  exactness  in  this  respect 
a  great  measure  of  success  depends.  Milch  cows  require  a 
full  supply  of  the  most  nutritious  and  succulent  food — and  it  is 
not  only  essential  that  it  be  of  a  good  quality,  but  that  it  be  of 
such  quality  as  is  relished  by  the  cattle.  Many  dairymen  pas- 
ture their  cows  during  summer — others,  the  practice  is  becom- 
ing more  general,  have  adopted  the  soiling  system.  In  win- 
ter, stall-feeding  is  recommended  and  generally  adopted.  But 
the  utmost  order  and  regularity  should  be  observed.  The 
building  should  be  well  ventilated  in  winter  as  well  as  in  sum- 
mer— cleansed  every  day  in  the  most  perfect  manner — the 
cows  should  all  be  curried,  and  have  a  plentiful  supply  of 
water,  which,  if  well  thickened  with  Indian  meal,  will  be  the 
better.t 

Some  experienced  and  intelligent  graziers  and  dairymen, 
maintain  that  good  natural  pastures  are  far  superior  to  the  best 
of  roots  and  the  artificial  grasses,  producing  a  greater  yield  of 
milk,  and  a  better  flavour  in  the  butter,  than  is  produced  from 
soiling.  No  farmer  should  be  deterred,  however,  from  this 
opinion,  from  feeding  his  dairy  stock  on  the  soiling  principle, 
as  the  advantages  of  that  over  the  old  system  are  great,  and 
may  be  ascertained  by  any  one  who  will  take  the  pains  to  pro- 
mote his  own  interest,  by  making  a  fair  and  just  experiment. 

Much  more  generally/  depeiids  iijjon  the  construction  of 

*  See  articles  Grazing,  Soiling,  Stall-feeding,  Hay,  Grass,  Roots,  &c.  &c. 

+  EzEKiEL  Rhodes,  a  worthj''  farmer  of  Montgomery  county,  and  a  man  of 
great  observation  and  penetration,  sa)'s — That  within  one  ^A•eek  after  his 
sngar-beets  were  exhausted,  the  butter  from  his  cows  was  reduced  one-third, 
(within  a  fraction,)  and  that  the  butter  he  made  and  sold  during  the  time  his 
cows  weie  fed  mainly  on  sugar-beets,  was  in  much  higher  repute  than  it  had 
ever  been  before. 


296  THE  DAIRY. 

the  cow-house  than  many  persons  suppose.  It  should  be  per- 
fectly dry,  very  airy,  and  comfortably  warm.  The  greatest 
attention  must  be  paid  to  the  cleanliness  of  the  house;  and  the 
management  of  the  cows  must  in  no  case  be  confided  to  an  in- 
experienced, incompetent,  or  unfaithful  person;  and  no  one 
should  be  employed  about  cattle,  of  any  description,  who  pos- 
sesses a  bad  or  ungovernable  temper,  as  cattle  require  kind  and 
gentle  treatment.* 

Milking  is  a  process  that  requires  extreme  care  and  nicety, 
as  the  manner  in  which  it  is  performed  is  apt  to  diminish  the 
quantity  and  impair  the  quality.  During  the  summer  season, 
cows,  if  well  fed,  should  be  milked  three  times  a  day — early 
in  the  morning,  at  noon,  and  just  before  nightfall — and  nothing 
is  of  greater  importance  than  to  have  the  milk  thoroughly 
drawn  from  the  cow;  not  solely  because  that  last  drawn  is  the 
richest,  but  also  because  whatever  portion  is  suffered  to  remain 
is  re-absorbed  in  the  system,  and  at  the  next  milking  a  less 
quantity  is  yielded.  This  fact  is  accounted  for  on  the  princi- 
ple that  nature  generates  no  more  than  is  necessary  to  supply 
the  waste  of  that  taken  away.  Therefore,  if  this  imperfect 
system  is  permitted,  the  produce  of  the  dairy  will  be  greatly 
diminished,  and  the  cow,  in  the  process  of  time,  cease  to  yield 
her  milk. 

The  late  Dr.  James  Anderson,  whose  name  is  intimately 
and  honourably  connected  with  the  cause  of  agriculture,  and 
who  for  many  years  was  one  of  its  brightest  ornaments  and 
ablest  advocates,  combining  scientific  knowle^lge  with  great 
practical  experience,  furnished  for  the  Bath,  west  of  England, 
Agricultural  Society,!  a  valuable  paper  "On  the  Management 
of  the  Dairy,  particularly  with  respect  to  the  making  and 
curing  of  butter."  To  this  day,  and  in  all  dairy  countries,  this 
paper  is  considered  as  of  the  highest  authority:  though  of  con- 
siderable length,  it  may  be  found  published  entire  in  the  third 
volume  of  the  Farmer's  Cabinet,  and  also  in  the  Farmer's 
Register  for  the  year  1839.     The  following  extracts  will  give 

*  Cows  should  always  be  treated  with  great  gentleness,  and  soothed  by  mild 
usage,  especially  when  j^ouug  and  ticklish,  or  when  the  paps  are  tender;  in 
which  last  case,  the  udder  ought  to  be  fomented  with  warm  water  before  milk- 
ing, and  touched  with  the  greatest  gentleness,  otherwise  the  cow  will  be  in 
danger  of  contracting  bad  habits,  becoming  stubborn  and  unruly,  and  retain- 
ing her  milk  ever  after.  A  cow  never  lets  down  her  milk  pleasantly  to  the 
person  she  dreads  or  dislikes.  The  udder  and  paps  should  always  be  washed 
with  clean  water  before  milkinsr;  but  care  should  be  taken  that  none  of  that 
water  be  admitted  into  the  milking  pail. 

t  This  society  we  believe  is  still  in  existence.  It  has  been  the  means  of 
effecting  great  improvements  in  the  various  departments  of  agriculture,  and 
numbered  among  its  members  and  correspondents^  some  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  wortliy  men  of  this  country. 


THE  DAIRY.  297 

the  Doctor's  views  on  the  subject  of  milk.  The  facts  set 
forth  are  very  important,  and  ought  to  be  deeply  impressed  on 
the  minds  of  all  who  have  the  oversight  or  management  of 
dairies.  They  are  given  by  the  author  in  the  form  of  apho- 
risms, that  they  may  be  the  more  readily  adverted  to,  and  the 
easier  retained. 

Ap/iorism  I.— Of  the  milk  that  is  drawn  from  any  cow  at  one  time,  that 
which  comes  off  at  the  first  is  always  thinner  and  of  a  much  worse  quality  than 
that  which  comes  afterwards,  and  the  richness  goes  on  continually  increasing 
to  the  very  last  drop  that  can  be  drawn  from  the  udder  at  that  time. 

Among  farmers  in  this  country,  the  last  drawn  milk  from 
the  cow  is  termed  stroakings,  and  it  is  well  known  that  it  is 
much  superior  in  point  of  richness  to  that  which  is  drawn  at 
first — but  few  have  any  conception  of  the  vast  disproportion 
in  the  quality  of  the  first  and  last  drawn  milk  from  the  same 
cow,  at  one  milking.  The  fact  was  long  since  ascertained  by 
Dr.  Anderson,  and  confirmed  by  many  years  subsequent  ex- 
periments and  observation,  and  holds  good  to  the  present  day. 
He  took  a  number  of  cups,  of  the  same  size  and  shape,  one  was 
filled  at  the  beginning  of  the  milking,  and  the  others  at  regular 
intervals,  the  last  being  filled  by  the  stroakings.  The  result 
was  'Hhat  the  cream  from  some  cows,  exceeded  that  from  the 
first,  in  the  proportion  oi  sixteen  to  one.  In  other  cows,  how- 
ever, and  in  particular  circumstances,  the  disproportion  was 
not  quite  so  great;  but  in  no  case  did  I  find  it  fall  short  of  the 
rate  of  eight  to  one.  Probably,  upon  an  average  of  a  great 
many  cows,  it  might  be  found  to  run  at  ten  or  twelve  to  o?2e." 

The  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  cream,  however,  obtained, 
was  much  greater  than  the  difference  in  the  quantity.  In  the 
first  cup  the  cream  was  a  thin  tough  film,  thinner  and  perhaps 
whiter  than  the  paper  on  which  I  write;  in  the  last,  the  cream 
was  of  a  thick  butyrous  consistence,  and  of  a  glowing  richness 
of  colour,  that  no  other  kind  of  cream  is  ever  found  to  possess. 
The  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  milk  that  remained  after 
the  cream  was  separated,  was  perhaps  still  greater  than  either 
in  respect  to  the  quantity  or  the  quality  of  the  cream.  The 
milk  in  the  first  cup  was  a  thin  bluish  liquid,  like  as  if  a  very 
large  proportion  of  water  had  been  mixed  with  ordinary  milk; 
that  in  the  last  cup  was  of  a  thick  consistence  and  yellow 
colour,  more  resembling  cream  than  milk,  both  in  taste  and 
appearance.  From  this  important  experiment  it  appears,  that 
the  person  who,  by  bad  milking  of  his  cows,  loses  but  half  a 
pint  of  the  milk,  loses  in  fact  about  as  much  cream  as  would  be 
afforded  by  six  or  eight  pints  at  the  beginning,  and  loses  be- 
sides, that  part  of  the  cream  which  alone  can  give  richness  and 
high  flavour  to  his  butter. 


298  THE  DAIRY. 

Aphorism  II. — If  milk  -be  put  in  a  dish  and  allowed  to  stand  till  it  throws  up 
cream,  that  portion  of  cream  which  rises  first  to  the  surface  is  richer  in  quality, 
and  greater  in  quantity,  than  what  rises  in  a  second  equal  portion  of  time;  and 
the  cream  that  rises  in  the  second  interval  of  time  is  greater  in  quantity  and 
richer  in  quality  than  that  which  rises  in  a  third  equal  space  of  time;  and  that 
of  the  third  than  the  fourth,  and  so  on,  the  cream  that  rises  decreases  in  quan- 
tity, and  declines  in  quality  continually,  as  long  as  any  rises  to  the  surface. 

Aphorism  III. — Thick  milk  always  throws  up  a  smaller  proportion  of  the 
cream  it  actually  contains  to  the  surface,  than  milk  that  is  thinner,  but  that 
cream  is  of  a  richer  quality;  and  if  water  be  added  to  that  thick  milk  it  will 
afford  a  considerably  greater  quantity  of  cream  than  it  would  have  done  if 
allowed  to  remain  pure;  but  its  quality  is  at  the  same  time  greatly  debased. 

Aphorism  IV. — Milk  which  is  put  into  a  bucket  or  other  proper  vessel,  and 
carried  in  it  to  any  considerable  distance,  so  as  to  be  much  agitated  and  in  part 
cooled  before  it  be  put  into  the  milk-pans  to  settle  for  cream,  never  throws  up 
as  much  nor  so  rich  cream,  as  if  the  same  milk  had  been  put  into  the  milk- 
pans  directly  after  it  was  milked. 

A  practice  prevails  among  dairymen  of  putting  all  the  milk 
of  all  the  cows  in  one  large  vessel.  This  certainly  is  not  good 
practice,  as  the  produce  of  a  large  dairy  may  be  greatly  debased 
by  the  milk  of  one  bad  cow.  If  the  milk  from  each  cow  be 
placed  in  separate  pans,  the  farmer  will  be  able  to  form  a  cor- 
rect judgment  as  to  the  quantity  and  quality — and  also,  what 
is  highly  important,  he  will  know  which  of  his  cows  it  is  his 
interest  to  dispose  of  to  the  butcher,  and  likewise  those  most 
desirable  for  breeding.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  true 
value  of  a  milker,  does  not  consist  so  much  in  her  appearance, 
as  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  milk  yielded. 

When  butter  of  a  very  superior  quality  is  desired,  the 
milk  last  drawn  must  be  reserved  for  the  purpose.  It  is  stated 
by  Dr.  Anderson — but  a  difference  of  opinion  is  entertained 
on  this  point — that  the  best  butter  can  only  be,  with  economy, 
made  in  those  dairies  where  the  manufacture  of  cheese  is  the 
principal  object.  The  reason  is  obvious.  The  stroakings,  or 
the  cream  which  rises  during  the  three  or  four  first  hours, 
(which  is  generally  conceded  to  be  the  richest  portion,)  is 
taken  for  the  butter,  and  the  remainder  converted  into  cheese, 
with  nearly  as  great  advantage  as  the  new  milk  itself. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Cultivator,  Mr,  James  Smealle, 
in  noticing  the  difference  that  exists  in  butter,  says,  "some 
butter  is  very  fine,  while  another  parcel  is  unfit  for  the  table, 
yet  both  the  good  and  the  bad  are  obtained  from  milk  possess- 
ing exactly  the  same  properties.  It  is  evident  that  it  is  not  to 
the  milk,  but  to  the  management  of  it,  that  we  must  look  for 
the  cause  of  that  great  diversity  of  quality  existing  in  butter." 

The  properties  of  a  good  milk-room  are,  that  it  be  cool  in 
summer  and  moderately  warm  in  winter,  so  as  to  preserve 
throughout  the  year  a  temperature  of  from  50°  to  55°;  for  this 
purpose  a  stone  wall  will  be  necessary  in  winter.  A  good  ther- 
mometer will  also  be  found  an  indispensable  article.  It  should 
have  its  windows  to  the  north — well  ventilated,  perfectly  dry, 


THE  DAIRY.  299 

sweet  and  clean;  and  no  putrid  substances  should  be  permitted 
to  remain  for  the  shortest  space  of  time  in  its  neighbourhood — 
every  thing  in  and  around  the  building  must  be  in  perfect 
order,  and  the  most  scrupulous  regard  to  cleanliness  be  ob- 
served. The  windows  should  be  formed  of  gauze-cloth,  which 
will  exclude  flies,  but  admit  the  air,  and  protected  from  mice 
and  accidents  by  a  grating  of  wire.  Glass  sashes  are  to  be 
provided  for  winter. 

The  work-room,  in  which  the  different  manual  operations 
are  to  be  performed,  \s  to  be  fitted  up  with  a  boiler  for  heating 
both  water  and  milk;  and  this  room  in  ordinary  cases  should  be 
sufficiently  large  for  performing  all  the  necessary  in-door  opera- 
tions of  the  dairy,*  But  where  a  farm  is  exclusively  almost, 
devoted  to  this  business,  or  the  dairy,  on  a  mixed  farm,  is  un- 
usually large,  separate  apartments  should  be  provided  for  the 
different  processes  of  churning,  cheese-making,  and  cleansing 
the  vessels. 

The  store-room  is  designed  as  a  repository  of  the  produce  of 
the  dairy,  butter  or  cheese,  or  both,  when  made,  where  they 
may  be  kept  securely  until  it  may  be  advisable  to  remove  them. 
Without  being  too  much  heated  or  lighted,  it  should  possess  a 
certain  degree  of  warmth — it  may  be  placed  where  most  con- 
venient. 

The  utensils  necessary  for  a  dairy  are,  1.  Milking-pails 
formed  of  wood.  2.  Sieves  of  hair  or  wire-gauze  for  straining 
the  milk  and  retaining  its  impurities.*    3.  Vessels  for  holding 

*  Description  of  Mr.  Pedder's  pans,  aiid  mode  of  using  them. — Each  pan  is 
placed  on  a  strong  wooden  frame  of  the  most  convenient  height;  is  dish-shaped, 
either  square  or  oblong;  the  largest  being  about  five  feet'six  inches  long  by- 
thirty  inches  wide:  smaller  pans  can  be  made  to  order.  They  are  double,  the 
pan  for  the  milk  being  firmly  joined  to  another  of  the  same  shape,  but  some- 
what larger,  which  forms  a  casing  around  it;  the  space  between  them  being 
from  two  to  three  inches  deep,  is  for  the  purpose  of  containing  hot  water,  thus 
forming  a  bath  around  the  milk.  In  the  centre  of  the  upper  or  milk  pan,  which 
dips  regularly  towards  the  middle,  is  a  fine  strainer;  and  to  this  is  attached  a 
short  pipe,  which  descends  through  the  bottom  of  the  casing  pan,  of  which, 
however,  it  is  independent;  it  is  furnished  with  a  brass  tap,  its  purpose  being 
to  let  off  the  milk  contained  in  the  upper  pan,  at  the  end  of  the  process.  The 
casing,  or  bottom  pan,  is  furnished  with  two  pipes;  one  perforates  a  corner  of 
the  upper  or  milk  pan,  and  through  this,  boiling  water  is  poured  by  means  of  a 
funnel  at  the  proper  time,  so  as  completely  to  fill  the  space  between  the  pans — 
thus,  as  has  been  said,  forming  a  hot  bath  around  the  milk.  By  the  other  pipe, 
furnished  also  with  a  tap,  the  water  is  let  off"  at  the  proper  season.  Thus  the 
pans,  although  firmly  joined  together,  are  independent  of  each  other,  the  union, 
however,  strengthening  each  in  a  remarkable  manner. 

At  the  time  of  milking,  the  taps  are  closed,  and  the  upper  pan  is  to  be  filled 
with  the  milk  as  it  comes  from  the  cows;  after  standing  twelve  hours,  the  tap 
is  partially  unclosed,  and  a  small  portion  of  the  milk  is  drawn  away;  this,  on 
examination,  will  be  found  to  contain  the  impurities  of  the  milk,  which  have 
subsided;  (the  peculiar  formation  of  the  pan  having  induced  the  sediment  to 
form  exactly  on  the  strainer,)  and  this  economy  is  of  much  consequence  to  the 
quality  of  the  butter.  The  casing,  or  bottom  pan,  is  then  to  be  filled  with  boil- 
ing water,  by  means  of  the  pipe  which  perforates  the  upper  pan,  which  is  then 


300  THE  DAIRY. 

the  milk  until  the  cream  rises  upon  the  surface,  and  a  vessel 
for  containing  the  cream.  4.  Flat  dishes  of  willow,  ivory, 
or  horn,  for  the  purpose  of  skimming  the  cream  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  milk.  5.  A  churn.  6.  A  wooden  vat  or  tub  in 
which  the  milk  is  placed  when  the  curd  is  coagulated.  7.  A 
cheese-knife,  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  or  breaking  the  coagu- 
lated curd,  that  the  whey  may  be  separated.  8.  A  vessel  per- 
forated with  holes,  in  which  the  curd  may  be  placed,  that  it 
may  be  broken,  and  the  serous  m.atter  further  separated.  9. 
Wooden  vessels,  with  perforated  side  and  bottom,  in  which 
the  curd  is  placed  for  being  compressed.  10.  A  cheese  press. 
These  articles  are  mostly  figured  and  described  in  the  chapter 
on  agricultural  implements.  * 

Various  materials  are  used  in  the  construction  of  milk  dishes 
and  other  dairy  utensils.  The  employment  of  leaden  vessels, 
in  any  way,  should  be  wholly  discarded.  Cast  iron,  smoothed 
within  and  coated  with  tin  is  recommended  by  Professor  Low, 
who  says,  that  cast  iron  and  zinc  are  superior  to  the  more  com- 
mon material,  wood — as  they  are  more  easily  kept  clean,  and 
sooner  cooled,  which  contributes  to  the  more  ready  separation 
of  the  cream.  If  the  traces  of  arsenic  found  in  zinc  can  be 
neutralized,  then  would  we  recommend  it  for  general  use;  but 
if  not,  we  would  adhere  to  wooden  vessels  properly  constructed, 
as  being  free  from  all  the  serious  objections  raised  against  those 
formed  of  metal.  They  can,  with  proper  attention  and  labour, 
be  kept  sweet,  clean,  and  free  from  every  taint. 

There  are  a  great  variety  of  churns  of  different  modes  of 
construction^  the  most  common  of  which  is  the  ancient  imple- 
ment, moved  by  hand  and  called  the  plunge-churn.  The  form 
of  this  domestic  instrument  is  every  where  known.  It  con- 
sists of  a  cylindrical  vessel  of  wood  placed  upright;  it  acts  by 
means  of  a  long  handle  furnished  at  the  inner  end  with  a  per- 
forated board,  which  nearly  fits  the  cylinder;  this  is  worked 
up  and  down  by  the  dairy-maid,  which  agitates  the  milk  until 
the  butter  is  separated.     This  is  considered  the  most  efficient, 

to  be  closed;  and  the  water  is  permitted  to  stand  twelve  hours,  when  it  is  to 
be  drawn  off  b)-  the  tap  below,  opening  first  the  pipe  above,  to  give  vent.  After 
this,  the  milk  is  to  be  drawn  off,  by  placing  a  vessel  to  receive  it,  and  opening 
the  tap;  every  particle  of  the  cream  having  risen  to  the  surface.  Thus  the 
milk  will  be  found  to  drain  away,  leaving  the  cream  in  the  pan,  from  whence 
it  can  be  removed  with  the  greatest  ease  and  facility;  very  little  practice  in  this 
part  of  the  process  will  make  perfect.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  cream  is  re- 
moved, the  pan  should  be  well  washed  with  hot  water  and  soap,  which  will 
neutralize  any  acidity  there  might  be;  and  a  careful  rincing  after,  fits  it  for  an 
immediate  re-filling  without  removal  or  labour. 

The  cream  might  now  be  transferred  to  the  churn,  where  it  will  soon  be- 
come butter  of  the  finest  quality;  or  might  be  "brought"  by  merely  stirring  with 
the  hand  in  a  pan,  after  the  Devonshire  method;  either  way,  which  is  thought 
most  convenient. 


THE  DAIRY.  301 

but  tedious  and  laborious  process,  and  will  answer  only  when 
the  quantity  made  is  small.  The  barrel-churn,  and  others  of 
improved  construction,  is  recommended.  A  critical  examina- 
tion of  the  different  kinds  should  be  had  before  purchasing — 
and  the  dairyman  should  fully  understand  the  principles  upon 
which  his  patent  or  improved  churn  is  constructed. 

Butter  may  be  obtained  either  by  separating  the  cream  from 
the  milk  and  then  churning  it,  or  by  churning  the  milk  and 
cream  together.  By  the  first  method,  the  best  butter  is  ob- 
tained— by  the  second,  the  largest  quantity.  It  is  a  point  of 
practice  with  many  Pennsylvania  farmers  to  cool  the  milk  as 
soon  as  drawn  from  the  cows,  by  reducing  it  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  interior  of  the  milk-house,  which  in  summer  scarcely 
exceeds  50°.  By  this  means,  the  milk  remains  sweet  much 
longer  than  it  otherwise  would,  and  sufficient  time  is  allowed 
for  it  to  throw  up  all  the  cream,  so  there  is  no  loss. 

If  it  is  concluded  to  have  the  butter  produced  from  cream, 
the  cream  from  each  successive  milking  is  put  into  a  vessel 
until  a  sufficient  quantity  shall  be  collected;  when  the  quantity 
is  obtained,  and  before  the  cream  arrives  at  too  great  a  degree 
of  acidity,  it  is  put  into  the  churn,  in  which,  after  being  regu- 
larly agitated  for  about  the  space  of  an  hour,  the  butter  will  be 
separated.  It  appears  in  the  shape  of  small  kernels,  which  are 
united  by  the  pressure  of  the  dasher  against  the  bottom  of  the 
churn,  and  soon  forms  a  solid  mass  of  butter,  which  is  then  re- 
moved, carefully  worked  and  kneaded  in  cold  water,  until  the 
milk  is  entirely  separated,  which  is  known  by  the  water  coming 
off  pure  and  clear.*  "The  best  temperature  of  the  cream  for 
the  separation  of  the  butter,  appears  to  be  about  60° — in  cold 
weather  it  may  be  raised  somewhat  higher  by  the  addition  of 
hot  water." 

It  is  frequently  the  case,  that  butter  when  taken  from  the 
churn,  is  worked  too  much;  that  is,  the  process  of  working  by 
the  hand,  beating  and  pressing  it  down  with  a  cloth,  in  order 
that  the  remaining  milk  may  be  absorbed,  is  carried  to  excess. 
The  less  it  is  kneaded  or  beaten  the  better;  for  the  more  it  is 
worked,  the  more  tough  and  gluey  it  will  become.     When  the 

*  Judge  BoEL  says,  "our  dairywomen  have  added  two  rules,  viz: — 1.  "That 
no  water  be  suffered  to  come  in  contact  with  the  butter  in  any  stage  of  its  pro- 
cess; because  it  tends  to  lessen  the  essential  volatile  matter  (principle)  which 
gives  to  butter  its  rich  peculiar  flavour.  2.  To  have  the  salt  incorporated 
with  the  butter  in  the  first  operation  of  working;  and  after  an  interval  of 
twenty-four  hours,  to  apply  again  the  butter  ladle  until  the  whole  of  the  liquid 
is  expelled.  By  this  operation  the  salt  is  dissolved  and  effectually  blended 
with  the  butter,  which  is  freed  more  completely  from  the  butter-milk."  The 
practice  is  certainly  not  to  be  commended;  and  it  has  been  relinquished  in 
many  well  managed  dairies  in  the  batter  circle  of  Philadelphia. 
26 


302  THE  DAIRY. 

butter  is  used  fresh,  a  small  portion  of  the  best  and  purest  salt 
will  be  sufficient. 

But  by  far  the  greatest  portion  of  butter  is  made  at  a  dis- 
tance from  large  towns,  which  is  salted  down  in  kegs,  tubs  and 
firkins,  containing  generally  from  fifty-six  to  one  hundred 
pounds,  (p^  The  quality  of  the  salt  used  is  of  great  import- 
ance— if  it  be  pure,  the  butter  will  retain  its  flavour  for  a  long 
time — but  when  it  is  impure,  and  contains  bitter  and  deli- 
quescent salts,  the  butter  will  soon  become  rancid.  The  Ger- 
mans are  very  particular  on  this  point.  They  use  a  kind  of 
salt  made  by  slow  evaporation,  and  perfectly  chrystallized. 
The  salt  is  intimately  mixed  with  the  butter.  From  three  to 
five  pounds  are  sufficient  for  a  firkin  of  fifty-six  pounds.* 

In  packing  or  salting  down  butter  the  greatest  possible 
degree  of  caution,  nicety  and  exactness  is  to  be  observed.  The 
butter  having  been  formed  by  the  process  of  churning,  and 
perfectly  cleansed  from  all  particles  of  milk,  is  supposed  to  be 
ready  to  undergo  the  process  of  salting  and  packing.  The 
vessel  into  which  the  butter  is  to  be  placed,  after  having  been 
rendered  as  clean  and  sweet  as  possible,  must  be  well  rubbed 
all  over  in  the  inside  with  common  salt — a  little  melted  butter 
should  be  run  into  the  cavity  between  the  bottom  and  the 
sides,  at  their  joining,  all  round,  so  as  to  fill  it,  and  make  it 
every  where  flush  within  the  bottom  and  sides.  It  is  then  fit 
to  receive  the  butter. 

For  the  preservation  of  butter,  even  in  the  warmest  cli- 
mate, Dr.  Anderson  found,  from  some  years  experience,  that 
the  following  named  composition — the  properties  of  which  we 
believe  were  discovered  by  his  amiable  lady — was  far  prefer- 
able to  salt  alone,  as  it  not  only  preserves  the  butter  more 
efiectually  from  all  taint  of  rancidity,  but  makes  it  also  look 
better,  and  taste  sweeter,  richer,  and  more  marrowy,  than  por- 
tions of  the  same  butter  cured  with  common  salt. — Composi- 
tion. Take  of  sugar  one  part,  of  nitre  one  part,  and  of  the  best 
Spanish  great  salt  (or  rock  salt)  two  parts.  Beat  the  whole 
into  a  fine  powder,  mix  them  well  together,  and  put  them  by 
for  use.     The  Doctor  continues: 

Of  this  composition  one  ounce  should  be  put  to  every  sixteen  ounces  of  but- 
ter; mix  this  salt  thoroughly  with  the  butter  as  soon  as  it  has  been  freed  from 
the  milk,  and  put  it,  without  loss  of  time,  down  into  the  vessel  prepared  to  re- 
ceive it,  pressing  it  so  close  as  to  leave  no  air  holes,  or  any  kind  of  cavities 
■within  it.  Smooth  the  surface,  and  if  you  expect  that  it  will  be  above  a  day 
or  two  before  you  can  add  more,  cover  it  close  up  with  a  piece  of  clean  linen, 


*  The  following  mixture  has  been  found  superior  to  salt  alone  for  curing 
butter:  half  an  ounceof  dry  salt,  pounded  fine,  two  drachms  of  sugar,  and  two 
drachms  of  saltpetre,  for  every  pound  of  butter. 


THE  DAIRY.  303 

and  above  that  a  piece  of  wetted  parchment,  or,  for  want  of  that,  fine  linen 
that  has  been  dipped  in  melted  butter,  that  is  exactly  fitted  to  the  edges  of  the 
vessel  all  round,  so  as  to  exclude  the  air  as  much  as  possible,  without  the  as- 
sistance of  any  watery  brine;  when  more  butler  is  to  be  added,  these  coverings 
are  to  be  taken  off,  and  the  butter  applied  close  above  the  former,  pressing  it 
down  and  smoothing  it  as  before,  and  so  on  till  the  vessel  be  full.  When  it  is 
quite  full,  let  the  two  covers  be  spread  over  it  with  the  greatest  care,  and  let 
a  little  melted  butter  be  poured  all  round  the  edges,  so  as  to  fill  up  every 
cranny,  and  effectually  exclude  the  air.  A  little  salt  may  be  then  strewed 
over  the  whole,  and  the  cover  be  firmly  fixed  down  to  remain  close  shut  till  it 
be  opened  for  use.  If  all  this  be  carefully  done,  the  butter  may  be  kept  per- 
fectl}'- sound  in  this  climate  for  many  years.  How  many  years  I  cannot  tell: 
but  I  have  seen  it  two  years  old,  and  in  every  respect  as  sweet  and  sound  as 
when  it  was  only  a  month  old. 

It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that  butter  cured  in  this  manner  does  not  taste 
well  till  it  has  stood  at  least  a  fortnight  after  being  salted;  but  after  that  period 
is  elapsed,  it  eats  with  a  rich  marrowy  taste  that  no  other  butter  ever  acquires; 
and  it  tastes  so  little  of  salt,  that  a  person  who  had  been  accustomed  to  eat  but- 
ter cured  with  common  salt  only,  would  not  imagine  it  had  got  one-fourth  part 
of  the  salt  that  would  be  necessary  to  preserve  it. 

Judge  BuEL  says — 

Believing  that  butter  may  be  kept  sweet  and  good,  in  our  climate,  almost 
any  length  of  time,  if  properly  manufactured,  and  well  taken  care  of,  in  order 
to  test  the  validity  of  this  opinion,  M'e  had  two  pots  put  down,  one  in  June, 
and  the  other  in  August,  1834,  more  than  twenty  months  ago;  and  on  probing 
them  with  a  tryer,  while  penning  this  article,  the  butter  is  found  perfectly 
sweet,  and  seems  to  retain  most  of  its  original  flavour  and  freshness. 

In  the  manufacturing  process,  no  vatcr  is  permitted  to  come  in  contact  with 
the  cream  or  btdter — because  it  is  believed  that  water,  and  particularly  soft 
Avater,  dissipates  much  of  the  fine  flavour  that  gives  to  butter  its  high  value. 
The  Orange  county  dairywomen  say,  "give  us  good  hard  Avater  and  we  will 
make  good  butter;"  for  the  reason,  probably,  that  it  abstracts  less  of  the  aroma 
from  the  butter  than  soft  water.  The  temperature  of  the  cream  may  be  re- 
gulated by  cold  or  hot  water  put  into  a  tub,  in  which  the  churn  may  be  plung- 
ed. If  the  cream  is  clean,  it  needs  no  washing;  and  if  the  butter  is  dirty,  water 
will  never  clean  it. 

Nothing  but  good  well  pulverized  salt  is  used  in  preserving  the  butter;  this 
is  all  mixed,  and  all  dissolved,  in  the  mass,  before  the  butter  has  its  second, 
thorough  and  final  working  with  the  butter  ladle,  and  which  is  not  finished  till 
all  the  buttermilk  is  expelled. 

To  avoid  all  taint  from  the  butter  vessels,  and  the  better  to  exclude  it  from 
the  air,  which  soon  injures  it,  the  butter  is  packed  close  in  clean  stone  jars, 
and  when  nearly  filled,  is  covered  with  a  strong  brine,  rendered  pure  by  pre- 
vious bailing,  skimming  and  settling.  In  twenty  months  this  brine  has  been 
twice  renewed,  on  the  appearance  of  a  film  upon  the  surface  of  the  old  pickle. 
To  preserve  butter,  air  and  water,  and  heat  above  65  or  70  degrees  are  to  be 
guarded  against  as  much  as  possible.  The  brine  upon  the  surface  does  not 
penetrate  the  mass,  nor  while  sweet  taint  it,  but  thoroughly  excludes  the  air. 

The  making  of  butter  imvinter  is  a  very  nice  process^  and 

at  times  attended  with  diflficulty.      On  the  farm  of  Dr.  Jones, 

and  in  various   sections  of  Virginia,  the  following  process  is 

adopted.     Mrs.   Jones  prepares   her   cream  for   churning  by 

heating  the  milk  after  it  has  stood  from  twelve  to  twenty-four 

hours,  by  placing  it  over  coals  the  evening  before  churning. 

When  it  has  nearly  attained  the  boiling  point,  it  is  set  by  till 

morning.     The  cream  is  then  skimmed  off,  and  churned  by 

stirring  in  an  earthen  vessel.     The  butter  is  delicately  white 


304  THE  DAIRY. 

and  clear  in  its  complexion,  firm  and  fine  flavoured, — Com- 
j)hte  Farmer. 

An  interesting  and  valuable  paper  on  the  making  of  butter 
in  cold  weather,  by  the  Rev.  W.  Allen,  states  the  results  of 
several  trials,  by  which  it  appears  that  butter  may  be  obtained 
in  the  coldest  weather  with  as  much  ease  as  in  the  most 
favourable  season  of  the  year,  if  the  cream,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  churning,  is  brought  to  the  temperature  of  75°. 


PROCESS  OF  CHEESE-MAKLNG. 

The  production  of  cheese  includes  the  making  of  rennet — 
the  selection  of  a  colouring  matter — the  setting  of  the  curd — 
and  the  management  of  the  cheese  in  the  press.  Cheese  con- 
sists of  the  caseous  matter  of  milk  united  to  a  certain  portion 
of  the  oily  or  creamy  part.  This  oily  portion  adds  to  the 
flavour  and  richness  of  the  cheese,  and  hence  when  good  cheese 
is  wanted,  the  cream  should  not  be  separated.  Cheese,  how- 
ever, is  made  from  milk  from  which  the  cream  has  been  re- 
moved— it  is  then  termed  skimmed-milk  cheese,  and  is  of  an 
inferior  order. 

In  the  making  of  cheese,  there  are  certain  principles  which 
are  essential,  but  slight  variations  in  the  process  produce  cheeses 
of  very  different  qualities — and  although  the  most  important 
circumstance  is  the  quality  of  the  pasture  on  which  the  cows 
are  fed,  yet  much  depends  on  the  mode  in  which  the  different 
stages  of  the  fabrication  are  managed — hence,  the  great  supe- 
riority of  the  cheeses  of  particular  districts  or  dairies  over 
those  of  others,  without  any  apparent  difference  in  the  pas- 
ture.* By  skill  and  great  attention  excellent  cheeses  are  made 
in  places  where  the  pastures  are  not  considered  so  well  adapted 
to  produce  milk  of  a  proper  quality;  and  where  cows  are  chiefly 
kept  in  stalls,  and  fed  with  a  variety  of  natural  and  artificial 
grasses,  roots  and  vegetables,  superior  cheese  is  often  made.t 

The  season  best  adapted  for  cheese-viaking,  so  as  to  secure 
for  it  the  greatest  degree  of  richness,  generally  extends  from 
the  first  of  May  until  the  middle  of  October.   But  in  most  dairies 

*  The  cheese  manufactured  at  the  dairy  of  the  late  Judge  Capner,  of  Fleming- 
ton,  New  Jersey,  was  justly  celebrated  and  eagerly  sought  after  throughout  the 
Union.  This  high  reputation  was  acquired  by  superior  viaiMgement  in  its 
fabrication,  for  the  pasture  grounds  generally,  wherever  attended  to,  in  that 
region,  were  fully  equal  to  those  occupied  by  Mr.  C,  and  in  some  parts  of  old 
Hunterdon,  we  believe  the  pasture  grounds  were  better,  and  naturally  more- 
fertile. 

t  Penny  Cyclopaedia. 


THE  DAIRY.  305 

the  fabrication  of  cheese  is  continued  throughout  the  entire 
year.  The  prevailing  opinion  that  good  cheese  cannot  be  made 
in  winter,  is  erroneous.  The  cows  should  be  well  fed,  and 
every  possible  degree  of  attention  devoted  to  the  making  of 
the  cheese — these,  with  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  business, 
we  conceive  to  be  all  the  requisites  to  ensure  good  cheese  in 
the  winter  season.  Milk,  it  is  said,  abounds  most  in  caseous 
matter  during  the  spring,  and  with  the  butyraceous  in  summer 
and  autumn.  Cheese  may  be  made  from  the  curd  which  has 
been  formed  by  the  coagulation  of  the  milk  when  it  turns  sour; 
but,  when  thus  obtained,  it  is  hard  and  ill-flavoured — means 
have  therefore  been  found  to  curdle  it  with  "rennet." 

The  preparation  of  the  rennet,  as  it  is  denominated,  is  a 
most  important  part  of  the  process  of  cheese-making.  What 
is  termed  rennet  is  nothing  more  than  the  stomach  of  an  ani- 
mal, in  which  the  gastric  juices  are  preserved  by  salt — the  best 
is  the  stomach  of  a  sucking  calf  This  juice  rapidly  coagulates 
the  milk  as  the  calf  sucks;  and  the  only  difficulty  is  in  collect- 
ing and  keeping  it  from  putrefaction,  which  begins  from  the 
instant  the  stomach  is  taken  from  the  calf  The  following  may 
be  considered  the  simplest,  and  perhaps  the  best,  method  of  pre- 
servation. 

As  soon  as  a  sucking  calf  is  killed,  the  stomach  should  be  taken  out,  and  if 
the  calf  has  sucked  late!}',  it  is  all  the  better.  The  outer  skin  should  be  well 
scraped,  and  all  fat  and  useless  membranes  removed.  It  is  only  the  inner  coat 
which  must  be  preserved.  The  coagulated  milk  should  be  taken  out  and  ex- 
amined, and  any  substance  beside  curd  found  in  it  should  be  carefully  re- 
moved. The  serum  left  in  it  should  be  pressed  out  with  a  cloth.  It  should 
then  be  replaced  in  the  stomach  with  a  large  quantity  of  the  best  salt.  Some 
add  a  little  alum  and  sal  prunella — others,  various  herbs  and  spices,  with  a 
view  of  giving  the  cheese  a  peculiar  flavour,  but  the  plain  simple  salting  is 
sufficient.  The  skins  or  veils,  as  they  are  called,  are  then  put  into  a  pan  and 
covered  with  a  saturated  solution  of  salt,  in  which  they  are  soaked  for  some 
hours — but  there  must  be  no  more  liquor  than  will  moisten  the  veils.  They 
are  afterwards  hung  up  to  dry,  a  piece  of  light  flat  wood  being  put  crosswise 
into  each  to  stretch  them  out.  They  should  be  perfectly  dried  and  look  like 
parchment.  In  this  state  they  may  be  kept  for  any  length  of  time,  and  are  at 
all  times  ready  for  use.  In  some  places,  at  the  time  of  making  cheese,  a  piece 
of  a  veil  is  cut  off  and  soaked  for  some  hours  in  water  or  whey,  and  the  whole 
is  added  to  the  warm  milk.  In  other  places,  pieces  of  veil  are  put  into  a  lineu 
bag  and  soaked  in  warm  water,  until  the  water  has  acquired  sufficient  strength, 
which  is  proved  by  trying  a  portion  of  it  in  warm  milk. 

There  are  a  variety  of  modes  for  preparing  and  using  the 
rennet.  Professor  Low  says,  that  when  prepared  for  use,  it  is 
to  be  cut  into  small  pieces  and  put  into  ajar,  with  a  handful  or 
two  of  salt.  Water,  which  had  been  previously  boiled  and 
cooled  again,  is  then  poured  upon  it,  and  allowed  to  remain  for 
two  or  three  days.  It  is  then  drawn  off,  and  a  second  in- 
fusion made,  but  with  a  smaller  quantity  of  water.  This, 
also,  remains  a  few  days,  and  being  withdrawn,  the  two  liquors 
are  mixed  together,  strained  through  a  cloth,  and  put  into  bottles 
2G* 


306  THE  DAIRY. 

to  be  used  when  required.  This,  we  presume,  is  the  approved 
Scotch  method. 

Experience  is  necessary  to  determine  the  quantity  of  rennet 
necessary  to  coagulate  a  given  quantity  of  milk,  as  much  neces- 
sarily depends  upon  its  strength.  Throughout  the  whole  pro- 
cess of  preparing  and  preserving  rennet,  too  much  attention 
cannot  be  paid  to  its  cleanliness  and  sweetness — and  if  it  be 
used  after  it  has  become  foul  or  tainted,  the  cheese  will  become 
invariably  affected  by  it;  and  will  very  often  be  rendered 
thereby  unfit  for  use.* 

Muriatic  acid  is  used  in  very  small  quantities  as  a  substitute 
for  rennet,  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  in  other  places.  It 
is  the  use  of  this  article  which  gives  to  the  Dutch-cheese  that 
pungent  relish  which  induces  so  many  persons  to  prefer  it. 

Colouring  matter. — As  cheese  in  its  native  state,  that  is, 
such  as  is  well  manufactured,  being  put  together  in  proper 
time,  the  milk  being  of  a  proper  degree  of  warmth,  and  in  all 
other  respects  properly  pressed,  salted,  and  dried,  is  uniformly 
of  a  bright  yellow  cast,  the  idea  of  excellence  is  generally 
attached  to  cheese  of  such  a  colour.  Hence  it  is,  says  Loudon, 
that  it  has  become  necessary  for  the  dairyman  who  would  dis- 
pose of  his  cheese  to  advantage,  to  impart  a  light  yellow  orange 
colour  to  it  by  artificial  means.f 

For  imparting  a  colour  to  cheese  the  Spanish  arnotto  is 
unquestionably  the  best  of  all  ingredients.  It  is  a  preparation  of 
the  roucou,  {Bixa  orellana,)  which  grows  in  the  United  States. 
The  red  pulp  which  cover  the  seeds  of  this  tree,  is  suspended 
in  hot  water,  and  allowed  to  subside — and  when  dry,  is  formed 
into  cakes  or  balls,  which  are  further  set  aside  until  they  be- 
come dry  and  firm.  When  genuine,  one  ounce  of  this  sub- 
stance will  be  sufficient  to  colour  one  hundred  pounds  of  cheese. 
The  usual  way  of  applying  it  is  to  dip  a  piece  of  the"  requisite 
size  and  weight  in  a  bowl  of  milk,  and  then  rub  it  on  a  smooth 
stone  until  the  milk  assumes  a  deep  red  colour.  This  infusion 
is  then  to  be  added  to  milk  of  which  cheese  is  intended  to  be 
made,  in  such  quantity  as  will  impart  to  the  whole  a  bright 
orange  colour,  which  will  become  the  deeper  in  proportion  to 
the  age  of  the  cheese.  The  mixing  of  the  arnotto  in  no  respect 
affects  either  its  taste  or  smell. 

In  Cheshire,  England,  a  somewhat  different  practice  prevails.  It  is  usual 
when  the  colouring  matter  is  wanted  to  tie  up  about  as  much  as  is  deemed  suf- 
ficient in  a  linen  rag,  and  placing  it  in  half  a  pint  of  warm  water,  let  it  stand 

*  Farmer's  Magazine,  page  162. 

+  Marigolds  boiled  in  milk,  are  also  used  for  colouring  cheese — to  which 
they  also  imparl  a  pleasant  flavour.  In  winter,  carrots  scraped  and  boiled  in 
milk,  afterwards  strained,  will  produce  a  richer  colour;  but  they  should  be 
used  with  gieat  moderation  on  account  of  their  taste. 


THE  DAIRY.  3Q7 

over  night.  In  the  morning,  immediately  before  the  milk  is  coagulated,  the 
■whole  of  this  infusion  is  mixed  with  it  in  the  cheese-tub,  and  the  rag  is  dipped 
in  the  milk,  and  rubbed  on  the  palm  of  the  hand  until  all  the  colouring  matter 
is  completely  extracted. 

A  very  simple  method  is  thus  recommended.  Take  a  piece  about  the  size 
of  a  hazlenut,  put  it  into  a  pint  of  milk  the  night  before  you  intend  to  make 
cheese,  and  it  will  dissolve.  Add  it  to  the  milk  at  the  time  the  rennet  is  put 
in.    This  quantity  will  colour  a  cheese  of  twenty  pounds  weight. — Parkinson. 

In  making  cheese  the  milk  is  put  into  a  large  tub,  and  this, 
as  soon  after  being  obtained  from  the  cows  as  possible.  If 
there  is  a  sufficient  number  of  cows  on  the  farm  to  produce  one 
cheese  at  a  milking,  the  process  is  performed  immediately. 
The  milk,  after  being  strained  through  a  sieve,  is  put  into  a 
vat,  and  while  yet  warm,  a  table-spoonful  or  two  of  the  rennet 
(or  a  sufficiency)  is  mixed  with  it,  after  which  the  coagulation 
soon  takes  place. 

But  if  there  are  not  a  sufficient  number  of  cows  to  make  a 
cheese  each  time  they  are  milked,  the  milk  as  it  is  brought 
from  the  cows,  is  put  into  milk  vessels,  until  as  much  is  col- 
lected as  will  form  a  cheese.  When  the  cheese  is  ready  to  be 
made,  the  cream  is  skimmed  off,  and  as  much  of  the  milk  is 
heated  separately,  as,  when  added  to  the  mass  again,  will  raise 
it  to  about  90°.  The  cream  which  has  been  separated  is  then 
either  mixed  with  this  heated  milk,  and  so  liquefied  and  dis- 
solved in  it,  or  it  is  not  incorporated  with  the  general  mass 
until  the  heated  milk  has  been  added. 

The  curd  being  fully  formed,  \s  cut  in  various  directions 
with  the  cheese-knife,  so  as  to  permit  the  whey  to  exude; 
the  whey  is  then  taken  out  in  flat  dishes,  the  curd  at  the  same 
time  undergoing  a  gentle  pressure.  By  the  operation  of  the 
cheese-knife,  the  curd  is  then  cut  into  small  pieces,  put  into  a 
sieve  or  vat  with  holes,  and  then  repeatedly  cut,  pressed  by 
the  hand  and  broken,  until  it  ceases  to  give  off  any  serous  mat- 
ter. It  is  last  of  all  cut  very  fine  by  the  cheese-knife,  and  a 
quantity  of  salt,  in  the  proportion  of  half  an  ounce  to  a  pound 
of  cheese,  being  mixed  with  it,  it  is  wrapped  in  a  piece  of 
cloth,  and  then  placed  in  a  small  wooden  vessel,  with  circular 
holes  at  the  sides  and  bottom,  and  placed  in  the  cheese-press. 
This  is  the  process  of  cheese  making,  as  detailed  in  the  Ele- 
ments of  Agriculture.  Some  others,  however,  recommend 
that  when  the  curd  is  sufficiently  drained,  and  broken  with  the 
hand  as  small  as  possible,  that  the  salt,  which  should  be  of  the 
most  superior  kind,  be  scattered  over  the  curd,  and  intimately 
mixed  with  it;  the  proportion,  however,  has  not  been  correct- 
ly ascertained,  and  is  regulated  by  experience. 

The  fressing  process  is  one  oj great  nicety,  as  the  period  for  which  the  cheese 
should  remain  in  the  press  is,  in  a  great  measure,  dependent  upon  the  nature 
of  the  cheese,  and  the  degree  of  previous  manipulation  which  it  had  under- 


308  "^HE  DAIRY. 

gone.  In  some  of  the  finer  and  richer  cheeses,  the  pressure  is  very  slight,  and 
in  some  few  cases,  the  cheese  press  is  entirelj' dispensed  with.  But  in  ordi- 
nary cases,  the  cheese  being  wrapped  in  a  cloth,  and  put  into  its  vat  with  a 
board  above  it  to  fit  the  vat,  remains  in  the  press  from  one  to  two  hours.  It 
is  then  taken  out,  broken  again  by  the  hand,  wrapped  in  fresh  cloth,  and  re- 
placed in  the  cheese-vat;  and  sometimes  it  is  not  broken  but  merely  reversed. 
It  may  then  be  taken  out  every  five  or  six  hours  and  the  cloth  changed.  After 
being  pressed  in  this  manner  for  two  or  three  days,  the  operation  will  be  com- 
plete. The  cheese  may  then  be  kept  in  a  warm  place  until  dry,  and  ultimate- 
ly placed  in  the  store-room  for  preservation. 

The  management  of  some  is,  when  the  making  and  salting 
is  completed,  a  cloth  is  to  be  spread  over  the  cheese  vat,  the 
broken  curd  is  to  be  neatly  packed  into  it,  the  whole  well 
covered  by  a  clean  cloth.  A  smooth  round  board,  as  before 
described,  is  then  laid  over  the  vat,  the  vat  being  usually  filled 
to  the  height  of  about  an  inch  above  the  brine,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  prevent  the  curd  sinking  below  it,  when  the  whey 
is  squeezed  out.  It  is  then  placed  in  the  press,  and  as  it  is 
essential  that  every  particle  of  whey  should  be  expressed,  iron 
skewers,  about  eighteen  incTies  in  length,  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose, are  thrust  into  the  cheese  through  the  holes  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  vat,  by  which  means  the  passage  of  the  whey  is 
greatly  facilitated.  In  two  hours  the  cheese  is  taken  out,  and 
immediately  placed  in  a  vessel  of  warm  or  hot  whey,  (not 
boiling,)  where  it  remains  for  an  hour  or  two  for  the  purpose 
of  hardening  the  surface  or  skin  of  the  cheese. 

When  the  cheese  has  remained  for  a  sufficient  time  in  the 
warm  whey,  it  is  removed,  carefully  wiped  until  dry  with  a 
towel,  and  when  cold,  neatly  enveloped  in  a  fine  cloth,  and 
again  submitted  to  the  pressing  process  for  six  or  eight  hours. 
It  is  now  turned  a  second  time,  taken  to  the  salting-room, 
where  it  is  rubbed  on  each  side  with  salt — after  which  it  is 
wrapped  in  a  dry  cloth  of  a  much  finer  texture  than  either  of 
the  cloths  before  used,  and  is  again  pressed  for  twelve  or  four- 
teen hours.  If  any  edges  remain  they  are  paired  ofT;  the 
cheese  is  then  placed  upon  a  cheese  shelf,  where  it  is  to  be 
turned  every  da}\  In  the  salting-room,  cheese,  says  Parkin- 
son, should  be  kept  warm  until  it  has  had  a  sweat,  or  has  be- 
come regularly  dry  or  somewhat  stifi" — as  it  is  a  proper  degree 
of  warmth  that  ripens  cheese,  improves  its  colour,  and  causes 
it  when  cut  to  have  a  flaxy  appearance,  which  is  the  surest 
sign  of  superior  excellence. 

The  management  of  the  cheese-room,  requires  much  care 
and  attention.  After  the  cheeses  have  passed  through  the  dif- 
ferent processes,  and  the  salting  and  drying  are  completed, 
they  are  deposited  in  the  cheese  or  store-room,  which  should 
be  airy  and  dry.  The  hard  and  soft  cheeses  ought  not  to  be 
kept  in  the  same  room.     The  dairyman  should  bear  in  mind 


THE  DAIRY.  309 

that  there  is  no  possible  remedy  for  the  defects  of  previous 
management;  for  if  the  rennet  be  impure,  the  whey  not  wholly 
expressed,  or  the  salting  imperfectly  or  insufficiently  perform- 
ed, the  cheese  will  prove  of  inferior  quality.  When  a  cheese 
has  a  disposition  to  heave  or  swell,  or  run  out  at  the  sides,  it 
may  be  regarded  as  an  indication  that  the  whey  had  been  im- 
perfectly separated.* 

New  cheese  to  Jit  it  for  market  requires  to  be  well  dried; 
when  taken  out  of  the  mould  they  are  to  be  laid  on  a  shelf, 
and  the  surface  of  each  alternately  exposed  to  the  air.  This 
laborious  operation  was  formerly  performed  by  hand,  but  ma- 
chines answering  every  desirable  purpose  have  been  invented, 
and  may  be  found  described  in  the  chapter  of  Implements. 

Great  variations  take  place  in  the  manner  of  performing  the 
operations  of  the  cheese  manufacture — and  certain  districts  are 
distinguished  by  their  peculiarities  of  practice.  The  richness 
and  flavour  of  cheese,  very  much  d§pend  upon  the  quantity  of 
cream  which  the  milk  contains.  In  some  places,  most  cele- 
brated for  rich  cheese,  the  cream  of  one  milking  is  skimmed 
off  and  mixed  with  the  entire  milk  of  the  subsequent  milking. 
In  this  way  the  milk  which  produces  cheese  has  its  own  cream 
and  that  also  of  a  previous  milking. 

We  learn  from  the  Transactions  of  the  Highland  Agricul- 
tural Society  of  Scotland,!  that  the  flavour  of  an  old  cheese 
may  be  communicated  to  a  new  one  of  whatever  species,  by 
the  insertion  of  some  portions  being  intermixed  with  it.  This 
is  done  by  extracting  small  pieces  with  the  sample-scoop  from 
each  cheese,  and  interchanging  them,  by  which  means  the  new 
one,  if  well  covered  up  from  the  air,  will,  in  a  few  weeks,  be- 
come thoroughly  impregnated  with  the  mould,  and  with  a 
flavour  hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  the  old  one.  The 
cheeses  selected  must  be  dry,  and  the  blue  mould  should  be 
free  from  any  portion  of  a  more  decayed  appearance. 

*  In  order  to  prevent  or  stop  this  heaving,  the  cheese  mnst  be  laid  in  a  mode- 
rately cool  and  dry  place,  and  be  turned  regularly  everyday.  It  should  be 
pricked  on  both  sides,  in  several  places,  particularly  where  it  is  most  elevated, 
bv  thrusting  a  skewer  into  it,  by  which  a  passage  is  given  to  the  confined  air. 
This  pricking,  with  a  cheese-skewer  or  awl,  which  should  be  repeated  asofien 
as  necessary,  will  not  altogether  prevent  the  swelling;  yet,  by  giving  vent  to 
the  confined  air,  it  renders  it  less  considerable — and  the  cavities  of  the  cheese 
will  neither  be  so  disagreeable,  nor  consequently  so  unsightly  or  unpleasant  to 
the  eye.  Loudon  says  that  hard  and  spoiled  cheese  maybe  restored  as  follows: — 
Take  four  ounces  of  pearl-ash  and  pour  sweet  white  wine  over  it,  until  the 
mixture  ceases  to  effervesce.  Filter  the  solution,  dip  into  it  clean  linen  cloths, 
cover  the  cheese  with  them,  and  put  the  whole  into  a  cool  place  or  dry  cellar. 
Repeat  this  process  every  day,  at  the  same  time  turning  the  cheese,  and,  if 
necessary,  continue  it  for  several  weeks.  Thus  the  hardest  and  most  insipid 
cheese,  it  is  afiirmed,  has  frequently  recovered  its  former  flavour, 

t  Vol.  iii.  N.  S.,  p.  232. 


310  THE  DAIRY. 

To  enumerate  all  the  different  varieties  or  sorts  of  cheese, 
and  other  preparations  made  from  milk,  would  form  quite  a 
catalogue;  it  is  an  article  in  universal  esteem;  but  there  are 
different  kinds  in  almost  every  district,  according  to  the  mode 
of  its  preparation.  Having  already  occupied  a  large  space  of 
the  work  with  remarks  relative  to  the  process  of  cheese  making, 
we  have  only  room  to  refer  briefly  to  a  few  of  the  foreign 
cheeses  of  superior  excellence. 

The  Cheshire  cheese  is  in  the  highest  repute,  and  eagerly 
sought  after.  The  making  of  this  cheese  is  carried  to  the 
greatest  perfection — it  is  made  from  the  whole  of  the  milk  and 
cream,  the  morning's  milk  being  mixed  with  that  of  the  pre- 
ceding evening,  previously  warmed.  The  greatest  pains  are 
taken  to  extract  every  particle  of  whey. 

The  Stilton  cheese,  proverbial  for  its  richness  and  flavour, 
is  made  by  putting  the  night's  cream,  without  any  portion  of 
the  milk,  to  the  milk  of  the  following  morning,  with  the  ren- 
net; but  those  who  wish  to  make  it  very  fine,  add  a  still  greater 
quantity  of  cream,  and  of  course  the  richness  of  the  cheese  de- 
pends upon  the  amount  which  is  used.  When  the  curd  is  come 
it  is  not  broken,  as  is  usual  with  other  cheese,  but  is  taken  out 
whole  and  put  into  a  sieve  to  drain  gradually,  when  it  is  press- 
ed with  weights  until  entirely  freed  from  the  whey;  when  it 
becomes  dry  by  the  process  of  pressing,  it  is  put,  with  a  clean 
cloth,  into  a  vat  or  box  made  to  fit  it,  the  outer  coat  being  first 
well  salted.  When  it  has  acquired  firmness  enough  to  be  re- 
moved from  this  mould,  it  is  to  be  placed  on  a  dry  board, 
tightljj^  bound  about  by  a  fine  cloth,  which  is  to  be  changed 
dail}?^,  to  prevent  cracks;  but  when  this  danger  ceases,  the  use 
of  the  cloth  is  dispensed  with,  and  the  cheese  requires  no 
further  attention  or  care  than  daily  turning  upside  down  and 
brushed  for  two  or  three  months.  Sometimes  they  are  made 
in  a  net,  which  gives  them  the  form  of  an  acorn;  but  this  mode 
is  not  preferred.  It  generally  remains  two  years  before  being 
brought  to  market. 

Of  the  Parmesan  cheese  almost  every  person  has  some 
knowledge;  it  is  made  in  various  parts  of  Lombardy,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  Dutchy  of  Parma;  it  is  prepared  much  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  Cheshire,  and  the  best  American  cheeses. 
It  is,  however,  made  of  skim-milk,  the  curd  hardened  by  heat, 
by  being  placed  in  a  suitable  vessel  over  a  moderate  fire,  well 
salted,  thoroughly  pressed,  dried,  long  kept,  and  rich  in  flavour 
from  the  rich  herbage  of  the  meadows  of  the  Po,  along  the 
borders  of  which  the  cows  are  pastured. 

Soft  and  rich  cheeses  are  not  intended  to  be  kept  long — hard 
and  dry  cheeses  are  adapted  to  be  kept  and  stored  for  years. 


^    THE  DAIRY.  ^H 

Of  the  first  kind  are  all  cream  cheeses,  and  those  soft  cheeses 
which  are  sold  as  soon  as  made,  and  which  if  kept  too  long  be- 
come soft  and  putrid.  The  Cheshire,  and  similar  cheeses,  are 
intended  for  longer  keeping — and  cheeses  made  in  very  many- 
American  dairies,  have  been  known  to  keep  in  the  most  per- 
fect manner  for  years.  The  great  point  is  to  have  them  per- 
fectly cleared  of  whey,  and  properly  and  sufficiently  salted. 


312 


XVIL— REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


1.    THE  HORSE. 

Ix  the  genus  Equus,  naturalists  comprehend  six  species  or 
animals  nearly  allied: — 1.  Equus  caballus,  the  horse.  2. 
Equus  nemioyius,  the  dziggithai.  3.  Equus  asiyius,  the  ass. 
4.  Equus  quagga,  the  quagga.  5.  Equus  zebra,  the  moun- 
tain zebra.  6.  Equus  burchellii,  the  zebra  of  the  plains.  Of 
the  species  enumerated,  those  which  have  been  domesticated 
and  brought  under  the  dominion  of  man,  are  the  Equus  cabal- 
lus and  Equus  asinus,  and  a  hybrid  produced  by  these  two 
species. 

But  for  the  domestication  and  services  of  the  horse,  we 
should  have  yet  been  far  behind  in  civilization,  and  without 
him  our  luxuries  and  comforts  would  have  been  vastly  circum- 
scribed. By  his  aid  the  labour  of  agriculture  is  greatly  lessened 
— commercial  intercourse  facilitated — and  the  transportation 
of  men  and  merchandise,  as  well  as  the  produce  of  the  earth, 
efifected  with  rapidity  even  to  distant  parts.  The  form  of  the 
horse  is  the  most  perfect  and  elegant  of  all  other  animals.  This 
perfection  of  form  and  pliability  of  physical  organization,  adapts 
him  for  speed;  while  his  extreme  docility  of  disposition,  ren- 
ders him  a  willing  and  obedient  servant  to  man.*  The  horse 
is  vastly  modified  in  his  form  and  character  by  the  physical 
condition  of  the  countries  in  which  he  is  naturalized. 

Asia  is  supposed  to  be  the  native  country  of  the  horse — in 
the  extensive  plains  of  that  country,  he  is  found  at  the  present 
day,  roving  in  unrestrained  freedom.  In  the  vast  and  fertile 
plains  of  South  America,  immense  troops  of  wild  horses  are  to 
be  found,  sprung  from  individuals  taken  to  that  country  by  the 
Spaniards.  They  have  increased  so  astonishingly,  that  they 
are  to  be  met  with  in  troops  of  many  thousands,  and  it  is  ex- 
tremely hazardous  for  travellers  to  pass  through  the  districts 
where  they  herd.  The  wild  horses  of  America  are  generally 
of  a  chestnut-bay  and  a  sorrel  colour — some  few  are  black. 
At  what  period  the  horse  was  first  domesticated  a/id  brought 
into  the  service  of  man,  is  not  known.  It  was  probably  coeval 
with  the  earliest  improved  state  of  society.  The  first  instance 
of  horses  being  mentioned  in  the  sacred  scriptures  is  in  Genesis, 

♦  Information  for  the  People,  p.  81. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS.  313 

chap,  xlvil.  17th  verse,  "and  Joseph  gave  them  (the  Egyp- 
tians) bread  in  exchange  for  horses."  This  was  b.  c.  1702, 
and  is  the  first  and  earliest  record  we  have.  We  are  subse- 
quently informed  that  they  multiplied  with  great  rapidity,  for 
when  Joseph  removed  his  father's  remains  from  Egypt  to 
Canaan,  (b.  c.  1670,)  there  ''went  up  with  him  both  chariots 
and  horsemen;"  and  we  find  that  in  a  century  and  a  half  after 
this  period,  that  the  horse  constituted  the  principal  strength  of 
the  Egyptian  army. 

The  varieties  of  the  domestic  horse  are  numerous.  Operated 
on  by  climate  and  other  circumstances,  he  assumes  that  form 
best  adapted  to  his  locality.  If  reared  in  a  country  where  the 
plains  abound  in  rich  herbage,  his  form  becomes  large;  but  if 
fed  in  an  elevated  country,  or  so  far  north  that  the  herbage  is 
scanty,  his  size  and  form,  will,  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
vary  with  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed.  No  con- 
trast between  animals  of  the  same  species  can  be  greater  or 
more  striking,  than  that  between  the  horse  of  the  mountains 
and  the  horse  of  the  plains.  Yet  all  this  great  diversity  is  pro- 
duced by  a  difference  in  the  supplies  of  food,  as  influenced 
by  the  effects  of  situation.  Nor  is  this  peculiar  to  the  horse — 
the  domestic  ox  and  the  sheep  are  subject  to  the  same  law,  and 
in  a  no  less  remarkable  degree.  These  animals  are  essential  to 
the  subsistence  of  the  human  race,  and,  by  a  beneficent  provi- 
sion of  Nature,  they  are  formed  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  they  are  placed.* 

No  record  is  extant  of  the  precise  period  when  the  horse 
was  first  introduced  into  Europe.  The  frequent  wars  between 
the  Greeks  and  Persians,  was  probably  the  means  of  intro- 
ducing the  horse  into  Greece,  as  we  read  that  Xerxes,  who  in- 
vaded that  country,  had  eighty  thousand  horses,  principally 
chosen  stallions.  From  thence  it  was  a  very  easy  matter  for 
them  to  spread  over  the  continent  of  Europe.  The  first 
Arabian  horse  introduced  into  England  was  during  the  reign 
of  James  I. 

The  Spanish  horses  are  still  held  in  high  estimation.  The 
invasion  of  that  country  by  the  Moors  in  1710,  was  the  means 
of  introducing  the  most  excellent  breeds  of  oriental  blood;  and 
during  the  continuance  of  the  conquerors  there  for  several  cen- 
turies, an  improved  race  was  produced.  Notwithstanding  the 
unhappy  state  of  that  once  prosperous  country,  the  good  quali- 
ties of  the  horse  are  not  wholly  debased;  for  at  the  present  day 
the  best  Spanish  horses  are  preferred  by  many  competent  horse- 
men to  the  barbs.     The  Spanish  Genet  is  celebrated  for  its 

♦  Professor  Low's  Elements. 
27 


314  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

elegance  and  sprightliness.  Horses  reared  in  Upper  Andalusia 
are  considered  the  most  valuable — they  rank  next  to  the  Per- 
sian horses,  which  are  considered  next  in  value  to  i\\e  Arabian. 
In  France,  a  great  variety  of  breeds  are  tu  be  found;  the 
most  valuable  of  which  is  a  noble  race  of  draught  or  farm 
horses,  unsurpassed  by  those  of  any  other  country.  The  breed 
of  horses  is  improving — more  attention  being  paid  of  late  years 
to  the  improvement  of  stock  than  heretofore.  Napoleon  gave 
the  first  efficient  impulse  by  importing  more  than  two  hundred 
fine  Arabian  stallions,  which  were  distributed  throughout  the 
empire. 

The  Memisk  horses  are  not  highly  valued.  They  usually  have  large  heavy 
heads  and  necks;  large  and  flat  feet,  and  their  feet  subject  to  swellings  and 
watery  humours.  There  must,  we  think,  be  some  good  animals  among  them. 
Holland  furnishes  a  race  of  horses  suited  for  light  work.  Germany  is  not  des- 
titute of  good  horses,  though  the  most  of  the  native  breeds  are  heavy  and  ill- 
formed.  Their  breeds  are  much  improved  by  crosses  with  the  Asiatic  and 
Arabian  breeds.  The  Polish  horses  are  of  middle  size,  hardy,  strong,  and 
useful,  and  in  many  points  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  Canadian  or 
French  horse.  The  Bnssian  horse  is  chieliy  regarded  for  his  capability  of 
enduring  great  fatigue.  They  are  small  aiid  hardy,  and  but  lightly  prized 
without  the  limits  of  their  native  country.  The  Swedish  horse  is  low  and 
small,  and  the  Nonvay  breed  may  be  comprehended  under  the  same  descrip- 
tion— but  they  are  strong,  hardy  and  active.  Denmark,  Holstein,  and  Olden- 
hurg,  boast  of  a  great  variety,  some  highly  esteemed  for  cavalry  service,  car- 
riage use,  and  heavy  draught. 

The  true  Arabian  horse  is  considered  by  many  good  and 
well  qualified  judges,  as  superior  to  all  others  for  symmetry  of 
form,  and  grace  and  beauty  of  its  moveinents.  In  their  na- 
tive country  they  are  nurtured  with  the  greatest  possible  care 
and  attention.  Indeed,  they  are  almost  idolized  by  their 
owners.  The  care  which  the  Arabs  observe  to  preserve  the 
blood  of  their  favourites  pure  and  unmixed,  is  as  commendable 
as  it  is  proverbial.  None  but  stallions  of  the  finest  form  and 
the  purest  blood  have  access  to  their  mares,  and  even  that  is 
not  permitted  except  in  the  presence  of  a  professional  witness, 
(public  officer,)  who  attests  the  fact,  records  the  name,  and 
signs  the  pedigree  of  each. 

In  England  there  are  several  varieties,  each  of  which  is 
known  by  its  distinctive  name. — 1.  The  race-horse,  wKioh.  has 
descended  nearly  in  a  direct  line  from  the  Arabian,  the  Persian 
and  the  Barb.  2.  The  hunter,  derived  from  horses  of  entire 
blood,  or  but  removed  a  shade  or  so  from  it.  In  propagating 
this  breed,  the  mares  are  selected  with  regard  to  their  purity 
of  blood,  size,  and  other  good  qualities,  and  the  stallions  are  of 
the  most  powerful  kind.  This  breed,  therefore,  combines  the 
speed  of  the  Arabian,  with  the  durability  of  the  native  horse. 
3.  The  improved  hackney  is  derived  like  the  former,  from  a 
judicious  mixture  of  the  blood  breed  with  the  native,  the  latter 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS.  3^5 

preponderating.  4.  The  old  English  road  horse — this  most 
Valuable  breed,  simply  because  it  is  not  so  beautiful  to  the  eye 
as  the  others,  has  become  almost  extinct.  This  horse  is  ad- 
mirably adapted  for  farm  work,  and  we  are  pleased  to  learn  . 
that  some  intelligent  agriculturists  are  making  efforts  to  revive 
the  race.  5.  The  black  horse,  generally  met  with  in  the  mid- 
land counties,  is  a  noble  animal.  6.  The  Cleaveland  hays,  a 
cross  with  the  race-horse,  have  degenerated  of  late  years. 
They  were  formerly  held  in  great  esteem.  It  is  said  by  some, 
that  in  activity  and  hardiness,  these  horses  have  no  superiors. 
They  are  better  calculated  for  slow  draught  than  any  other 
purpose.  7.  The  Suffolk  punch  is  held  in  high  esteem  by 
farmers,  as  it  is  a  very  useful  animal  in  rural  labour — superior, 
from  the  quickness  of  their  step  and  their  hardiness,  to  all 
other  horses  at  the  plough.  8.  The  Clydesdale  horse  is  proba- 
bly equal  to  any  other  for  farm  work,  on  which  account  it  is 
highly  esteemed  in  Scotland  and  the  north  of  England.  They 
are  a  strong,  active,  hardy  race,  of  the  middle  size,  remarkably 
steady,  true  pullers,  of  sound  constitution,  and  well  adapted  to 
all  the  purposes  of  husbandry.  9.  The  JVclch  horse,  accord- 
ing to  Cully,  from  whom  the  above  epitome  is  gathered, 
bears  a  near  resemblance,  in  point  of  size  and  hardiness,  to  the 
best  of  the  native  breed  of  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  and  other 
hilly  countries  of  the  north  of  Europe.  10.  The  Galloivay 
breed,  formerly  celebrated,  is  now  nearly  extinct,  being  found 
unsuitable  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Besides  the  varieties  enumerated  above,  there  are  numerous 
others  of  the  inferior  description  of  saddle-horse.  The  Bri- 
tish varieties  of  war  or  cavalry  horse,  and  of  carriage  or  cart 
horse,  are  considered  by  Cully,  Marshall,  Lord  Chester- 
field and  others,  to  have  been  derived  from  the  German  and 
Flemish  breeds,  meliorated  by  judicious  culture,  with  a  slight 
mixture  of  Arabian  and  Spanish  blood. 

There  are  numerous  varieties  of  the  horse  in  the  United 
States,  of  all  grades,  from  the  most  superior,  in  point  of  form, 
symmetry,  beauty  of  carriage,  docility  and  value,  to  the  most 
indifferent  kinds.  We  look  back  with  astonishment  at  the 
indifference  manifest  a  few  years  since,  by  many,  even  among 
the  best  farmers  of  that  day,  respecting  the  qualities  of  farm 
stock.  But  that  has  passed — and  a  most  commendable  spirit 
of  improvement  has  diffused  itself  throughout  our  whole  coun- 
try. No  pains  or  expense  have  been  spared  by  gentlemen  of 
intelligence  and  enterprise,  to  procure  animals — not  of  the 
horse  family  alone — but  of  all  other  descriptions,  of  the  purest 
blood.  Imported  blood  stock  may  now  be  found  in  every 
section  of  our  country,  and  native  animals  in  abundance,  nearly, 


316  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

if  not  in  many  instances,  equal  to  them  in  point  of  excellence  and 
value.     This  mighty  change  has  been  wrought  in  a  few  years. 

Jillhough  we  have  many  different  breeds  of  horses,  all  of 
them  possessing  their  peculiar  valuable  properties,  yet  they  are 
not  distinguished  or  known  from  each  other  by  peculiar  names, 
as  distinct  breeds,  as  is  the  case  in  Europe.  We  have  the  race- 
horse— the  saddle-horse — the  coach-horse — the  family-horse — 
the  road  or  stage-horse — the  cart  or  draught-horse — and  the 
farm-horse.  Those  used  in  transportation  of  goods,  called  team, 
and  sometimes  wagon-horses,  are  generally  heavy,  fine  spirited, 
noble  looking  animals,  regular  in  their  gait,  steady  in  their 
pull,  performing  their  daily  task  with  apparent  cheerfulness 
and  good  will. 

The  improved  breeds  in  the  United  States,  are  derived  prin- 
cipally from  the  Turkish  horse,  a  regular  descendant  from  the 
original  Arab,  crossed  by  the  best  Persian  blood.  Several  of 
our  consuls,  residing  on  the  borders  of  the  jNIediterranean,  de- 
serve great  credit  for  the  pains  they  have  taken  to  send  over 
to  their  native  country  horses  of  the  best  breeds  and  the  purest 
blood. 

With  the  improvements  already  noticed,  a  great  change  has 
taken  place  in  the  rearing  and  subsequent  management  of 
horses.  The  former  practice  was  not  only  seriously  defective, 
but  absolutely  injurious.  The  mode  of  breaking  a  young  horse 
was  not  merely  absurd,  hurtful  to  him,  and  dangerous  to  the 
person  performing  the  operation  of  taming,  but  C7'uel  in  the 
extreme.  Frequently,  without  being  accustomed  to  the  bridle, 
or  any  incumbrance,  he  was  mounted.  If  he  refused  to  comply 
with  the  wishes  of  the  rider,  the  young  horse,  ignorant  and 
alarmed,  was  unmercifully  beaten — he  was  jerked  by  the  head 
backwards  and  forwards,  until,  becoming  wild  with  fright,  he 
dashed  off,  and  frequently  unseated  his  rider  at  a  single  bound. 
We  have  known  many  instances  in  which,  at  the  outset,  the 
animal  has  gone  off  kindly — and  the  injudicious  rider  con- 
tinued the  exercise  until  the  horse  was  completely  jaded  down 
and  dispirited.  A  horse  if  taken  early  can  be  rendered  per- 
fectly tractable  and  docile  by  tender  and  kind  treatment.  The 
proper  method  of  breaking  will  be  hereafter  noticed. 

The  following  observations  respecting  the  form — rearing  and 
feeding — with  copious  remarks  as  to  the  general  management 
of  the  horse,  are  taken  from  Professor  Low's  work.  It  is  more 
full  and  comprehensive  than  any  we  have  heretofore  met  with, 
and  so  brief  withal,  that  we  cannot  abridge  it  to  advantage. 

1.  Form. — An  examination  of  the  form  of  the  horse  requires  a  cursor)''  one 
of  his  anatomical  structure. 

The  bones  of  an  animal  form,  it  may  be  said,  the  foundation  on  which  is 
erected  the  edifice  of  the  living  machine.    They  mainly  give  to  it  its  form  and 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


317 


proportions.    Their  various  parts,  connected  by  flexible  ligaments,  are  capa- 
ble of  all  the  varieties  of  motion  fitted  to  the  condition  of  the  animal. 

Motion  is  given  to  the  bones  by  means  of  muscles  or  fleshy  fibre:  but  the 
flesh  of  animals  is  not  a  mere  stratum  covering  the  bones,  as  some  might  sup- 
pose. Every  muscle  is  a  distinct  organ,  consisting  of  innumerable  parallel 
fibres,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  fleshy  band,  stretching  from  bone  to  bone,  or  from 
muscle  to  muscle,  and  each  serving  its  peculiar  function. 

These  muscles  are  of  vast  power  when  under  the  influence  of  the  vital  prin- 
ciple. By  contracting,  they  give  motion  to  the  bones  and  other  parts.  Each 
muscle  consists  of  long  threads  or  fibres,  seemingly  bound  together  by  mesh- 
work.  These  fibres,  in  so  far  as  the  eye,  assisted  by  very  powerful  glasses,  can 
discover,  are  resolvable  into  minuter  filaments.  A  number  of  these  filaments 
may  be  said  to  form  a  fibre;  a  number  of  these  fibres  to  form  a  fasciculus  or 
bundle  of  fibres;  and  a  number  of  fasciculi  to  form  a  muscle. 

Muscles  assume  a  variety  of  form  suited 
to  their  peculiar  functions.  Sometimes  they 
are  flat,  extending  over  a  considerable 
space,  and  often  they  form  a  fleshy  band, 
swelling  out  in  the  centre,  and  becoming 
small  and  tendinous  at  the  points  of  their 
attachment  to  the  bones. 

Not  only  is  a  class  of  muscles  employed 
in  giving  motion  to  the  bones,  but  a  nu- 
merous class  is  employed  within  the  body 
in  giving  motion  to  the  organs  of  nutrition, 
as  the  heart  and  the  stomach.  Anatomists  enumerate  in  all  about  400  muscles, 
a  number  wonderfully  small  when  we  consider  their  functions,  and  the  infinite 
variety  of  motion  in  the  animal;  for,  from  the  motions  of  the  limbs  to  the  ex- 
pression of  the  face  and  modulation  of  the  voice,  all  is  moved  by  this  machinery 
of  surpassing  beauty  and  simplicity. 

The  bones,  although  harder  than  the  muscular  structure,  are,  like  it,  the  parts 
of  a  living  machine,  furnished  with  their  bloodvessels  and  nerves.  They  give 
to  the  animal  its  peculiar  form,  and,  acted  upon  by  the  muscles,  its  power  of 
progression. 

The  following  figure  represents  the  connection  of  the  principal  bones  of  the 
horse: — 


318  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

C  C,  Cervical  vertebrae.  T,  Tarsal  bones,  or  bones  of  the  hock. 

D  D,  Dorsal  vertebrae.  U,  Metatarsal  bones  of  the  hind-leg. 

E  E,  Lumbar  vertebrae.  V,  Phalangeal    bones,    or    bones   of 

A,  Bones  of  the  cranium.  fetlock,  foot,  &c. 

B,  Bones  of  the  face.  K,  Scapula,  or  shoulder-blade. 
H,  Sacrum,  or  rump-bone.  L,  Humerus. 

J  J,  Bones  of  the  tail.  M,  Fore-arm. 

E  F,  Ribs.  N,  Carpal  Bones. 

G,  Sternum,  or  breast-bone.  O,  Metacarpal  bones. 

I,  Os  innominatum.  P,  Phalangeal  bones — 
CI,  Osfemoris,  thigh-bone  or  haunch-  1.  Withers. 

bone.  2.  The  elbow. 

S,  Bones  of  the  leg.  3.  Point  of  the  hock. 

R,  Patella,  or  stifle-bone.  4.  Hip-bone. 

The  series  of  bones  to  vhich  the  others  may  be  regarded  as  attached,  is  the 
vertebral  or  spinal  column.  This,  in  man,  is  erect,  forming  what  is  termed 
the  back-bone.  It  is  a  pillar  of  bones,  flexible  and  of  great  strength,  serving  to 
support  the  head  and  chest.  These  bones  or  vertebrae  are  jointed  or  articu- 
lated together,  with  a  certain  power  of  motion,  and  firmly  bound  by  strong 
cartilage.  Each  vertebra  has  a  cavity  passing  through  its  centre,  so  that,  when 
all  are  united  together,  there  is  a  continued  canal  passing  along  the  whole 
column.  It  is  within  this  canal  that  the  continuation  of  the  medullary  part  of 
the  brain,  or  spinal  marrow,  is  enclosed.  Radiating  from  this,  and  passing 
through  foramina  or  holes  in  the  column,  are  nerves  destined  to  give  sensation 
and  motion  to  the  muscles  and  other  organs. 

In  man  the  number  of  vertebrae  is  24,  in  the  horse  30;  in  man  the  column  is 
erect,  in  the  horse  it  is  horizontal,  to  suit  the  position  of  a  quadruped. 

Of  the  vertebrae,  those  peculiar  to  the  neck  are  termed  cervical;  those  belong- 
ing to  the  back,  and  from  which  the  ribs  arise,  dorsal;  those  belonging  to  the 
loins,  lumbar.  In  man  there  are  7  cervical,  12  dorsal,  and  5  lumbar  vertebrae; 
in  the  horse  there  are  7  cervical,  18  dorsal,  and  5  lumbar  vertebrae. 

These  vertebrse  have  each  projections  termed  processes,  which  are  designed 
for  the  attachment  of  muscles,  and  of  which  the  upright  are  termed  spinous 
processes.  In  the  horse,  the  spinous  processes  next  the  neck  are  very  large, 
forming  what  are  called  withers.  To  them  are  attached  muscles  and  ligaments 
which  support  and  give  motion  to  the  head  and  neck;  and  large  withers  are 
connected  with  the  power  of  active  motion  in  the  horse. 

Jointed  or  articulated  to  the  first  of  the  cervical  vertebrae  is  the  head,  con- 
taining the  brain  and  the  principal  organs  of  sense.  The  bones  of  the  head  are 
divided  into  two  classes,  those  of  the  cranium  or  skull,  and  tho.^e  of  the  face. 
The  bones  of  the  cranium  are  distinct  pieces,  firmly  united,  and  many  of  them 
dovetailed  into  each  other,  and  forming  a  cavity  fitted  in  the  happiest  manner 
for  the  protection  of  the  vital  organ  within.  The  manner  in  which  the  cra- 
nium is  articulated  to  the  upper  vertebra,  is  analogous  to  that  in  which  the  ver- 
tebrae themselves  are  united  together.  The  cranium  may  be  said  to  be  itself  a 
vertebra,  its  parts  being  merely  expanded  and  enlarged  so  as  to  form  a  cavity 
for  containing  the  brain. 

In  man  the  cranium  and  face  are  round:  in  the  horse  they  are  elongated,  in 
order  that  the  mouth  ma)-  collect  food.  The  head  in  man  is  nicely  poised  upon 
the  summit  of  a  column:  in  the  horse,  in  order  that  it  may  reach  the  ground, 
it  is  pendant.  In  the  horse,  its  great  weight  is  supported  by  powerful  muscles, 
and  by  a  strong  ligament  extending  from  the  head  to  the  spine.  It  is  for  the 
better  attachment  of  this  ligament  and  muscles,  that  the  withers  of  the  horse 
are  large:  in  man  withers  are  not  required. 

The  prehensile  organ  of  the  horse  being  the  mouth,  and  not  as  in  man  the 
hands,  the  length  of  the  cervical  vertebrae  must  be  so  much  greater  in  the 
horse  than  in  man,  that  he  may  be  able  to  reach  the  ground  and  collect  his 
food.  Although  the  number  of  cervical  vertebrae  in  the  horse  is  the  same  as 
in  man,  their  length  in  the  horse  is  much  greater. 

The  spinal  column  becomes  larger  towards  the  ba.se,  when  it  gradually 
diminishes.  This  portion  of  it  forms  what  is  termed  the  sacrum:  the  bones  of 
it  are  not  jointed,  but  united  so  as  to  form  one  bone.    The  vertebral  canal  is 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  31 9 

continued  into  the  sacrum,  and  sends  forth  nerves  to  the  lower  extremities.  In 
man  the  sacrum  is  terminated  by  4  or  5  little  bones  united  together:  in  the 
horse  these  bones  extend  to  a  greater  length,  forming  the  caudal  vertebrse  or 
tail. 

Rising  from  the  several  dorsal  vertebree  are  the  ribs.  These  bones  are  flat, 
bent,  and  elastic,  and  terminate  in  cartilage.  Some  of  them  are  united  directly 
to  the  sternum  or  breast-bone;  these  are  termed  true  or  sternal  ribs.  Some  are 
not  united  directly  to  the  sternum;  these  are  termed  false  or  asternal  ribs.  In  man 
the  number  of  dorsal  vertebra;  and  consequently  of  ribs,  is  12  on  each  side.  In 
the  horse  the  number  of  dorsal  vertebrae,  and  the  number  of  ribs  accordingly 
on  each  side,  is  18,  of  which  9  are  true  ribs  and  joined  to  the  sternum,  and  9 
asternal  ribs.  The  other  bones  connected  with  the  spinal  column  are  those  of 
the  pelvis,  to  which  is  attached  the  bone  of  the  thigh.  Connected  with  the 
spinal  column  also  by  muscles,  is  the  scapula  or  shoulder-blade,  to  which  is 
attached  the  humerus. 

The  pelvis  is  at  the  lower  part  of  the  spinal  column  in  man,  and  at  the 
hinder  part  in  the  horse.  It  is  a  large  irregular-shaped  cavity,  formed  by  the 
ossa  innominata  and  other  bones.  It  is  within  this  cavity  that  the  foetus  is 
developed  and  nourished.  A  prominent  bone  of  the  pelvis  is  the  ilium  or  hip- 
bone. 

Into  a  cavity  of  the  os  innominatum  on  each  side  is  inserted  the  os  femoris 
or  thigh-bone,  which  is  the  largest  bone  of  the  body.  The  thigh  in  man  is  alto- 
gether detached  from  the  trunk;  in  the  horse  it  forms  apparently  a  part  of  it. 
This  is  required  by  the  different  position  of  the  animal,  and  the  bone  has  suffi- 
cient facility  of  motion  in  the  position  in  which  it  is  placed.  In  man  it  stands 
vertical;  in  the  horse  it  is  bent,  which  prevents  the  animal  from  being  raised 
too  high  above  the  ground.  In  this  position,  too,  he  has  a  greater  power  of 
progression.  When  he  moves  the  limb  backwards  it  describes  a  large  arch  of 
a  circle.  Now,  were  the  thigh  placed  perpendicular  to  the  ground,  it  will  ap- 
pear from  the  figure  that,  when  stretched  backwards,  it  would  describe  a 
smaller  arch  of  a  circle.  Its  length,  therefore,  combined  with  its  bent  posi- 
tion, conduces  to  the  vast  power  of  progression  of  the  animal:  and  the  compara- 
tive power  of  motion  in  horses  is  very  much  dependent  upon  the  length  of  this 
part.  This  greater  length  of  the  thigh-bone,  again,  is  indicated  to  the  eye  by 
the  distance  from  the  hip-bone  backwards,  forming  what  are  termed  the  hind- 
quarters. Jockeys,  accordingly,  always  look  to  the  size  of  the  quarters  as  con- 
nected with  the  rapid  power  of  progression  of  the  horse. 

Next  in  order  are  the  bones  of  the  leg,  consisting  first  of  the  patella  or  stifle 
bone,  corresponding  with  the  pan  of  the  knee  in  man,  andnext  of  the  two  bones, 
the  tibia  and  fibula,  united  in  the  horse,  and  forming  the  leg  properly  so  called, 
and  corresponding  with  the  leg  in  man.  The  leg  of  the  horse  should  be  long 
in  proportion  to  the  lower  parts  of  the  limb. 

The  further  bones  of  the  limb  correspond  with  the  bones  of  the  heel,  the  foot, 
and  the  toes  of  man.  The  bones  of  the  heel  in  man  are  termed  the  tarsal  bones; 
of  the  foot,  the  metatarsal  bones;  and  of  the  toes,  the  phalangeal  bones.  In  man 
the  tarsal  bones  are  in  number  7,  the  metatarsal  5,  and  the  phalangeal  14.  In 
the  horse,  the  bones  corresponding  to  the  tarsal,  metatarsal,  and  phalangeal 
bones,  are  likewise,  as  in  man,  many;  and  this  number  of  bones  adds  to  the 
flexibility  and  elasticity  of  the  limb. 

Man,  however,  standing  erect,  requires  a  large  pediment  of  support.  The 
bones  of  the  foot  therefore  are  made  to  rest  upon  the  ground.  But  the  horse, 
having  four  limbs  of  support,  does  not  require  this  large  pediment.  The  me- 
tatarsal bones  of  the  horse  are  therefore  extended,  in  order  to  give  length  to  the 
limb.  The  phalangeal  bones  form  the  fetlock  and  other  parts,  giving  to  them 
flexibility  and  elasticity;  and  the  lowermost  only  of  the  phalangeal  bones  are 
brought  into  contact  with  the  ground.  These  last  are  not  separate  as  in  man, 
but  together,  and  defended  with  horn.  The  horse,  therefore,  may  be  said  to 
stand  on  his  toes;  and  if  any  person  will  attempt  to  walk  on  all-fours,  he  will 
find  that  the  toes  will  touch  the  ground,  while  the  bones  of  the  foot  will  be 
raised  up. 

The  bone  of  the  horse  termed  the  point  of  the  hock,  corresponds  with  the 
great  bone  of  the  heel  in  man.  To  this  is  attached  powerful  muscles;  and  the 
size  of  this  bone,  therefore,  as  giving  space  to  the  attachment  of  muscles,  is 


320  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

connected  with  good  action  in  the  horse,  and  is  therefore  one  of  the  points 
looked  at  by  jockeys. 

The  bones  of  the  other  extremity  of  the  horse  correspond  with  the  arm,  the 
fore-arm,  the  wrist,  the  hand,  and  the  fingers  in  man.  In  man  the  hand  forms 
the  prehensile  organ,  and  a  great  flexibility  is  given  to  the  different  bones  which 
form  it.  In  the  horse  these  bones  form  the  limbs  of  support.  They  are  not 
designed  to  seize  objects,  but  to  support  the  weight  of  the  animal  before, — to  be 
raised  from  the  ground  when  he  pushes  himself  forward  by  the  extension  of 
the  limbs  behind,  and  to  receive  his  weight  when  he  again  reaches  the  ground. 

The  scapula  or  shoulder-blade  is  in  the  horse,  as  in  man,  a  large  flat  trian- 
gular bone,  placed  upon  the  ribs,  and  connected  by  means  of  muscles  with  the 
head,  the  ribs,  and  the  spine.  In  man,  the  two  scapulae  are  kept  from  approach- 
ing each  other  by  the  clavicle  or  collar-bone.  From  the  form  and  position  of 
the  horse,  this  approximation  cannot  take  place;  and  there  is  therefore  no  collar- 
bone in  the  horse. 

Into  a  cavity  of  the  scapula  is  jointed  on  each  side  the  humerus.  But  the 
humerus,  or  arm  from  the  shoulder  to  the  elbow,  is  in  man  detached  as  it  were  • 
from  the  body;  while  in  the  horse  it  seems  to  form  a  part  of  it;  and  in  this  po- 
sition it  has  sufficient  power  of  motion.  It  is  bent,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
figure, — an  admirable  and  necessary  provision  to  lessen  the  shocks  which  the 
animal  receives  on  bringing  his  limbs  to  the  ground;  for  by  this  flexure  they 
act  the  part  of  a  spring.  Were  these  bones  vertical,  the  limb  would  be  shat- 
tered when  it  struck  the  ground. 

The  shoulder  of  the  horse  should  be  oblique,  and  the  humerus  relatively 
short.  The  obliquity  of  the  shoulder  is  a  point  connected  with  action  in  the 
horse;  and  the  reason  why  the  humerus  should  not  be  long  will  appear  from 
the  function  which  it  has  to  perform.  When  the  animal  moves  the  limb  for- 
ward to  raise  it  from  the  ground,  the  humerus  has  to  describe  an  arch  of  a  cir- 
cle; but  the  muscular  power  being  sufficient,  the  shorter  radius  describes  an 
equal  arch  with  a  longer. 

The  next  of  the  bones  are  two,  the  radius  and  ulna  united  together  in  the 
horse,  forming  the  fore-arm  in  man,  and  what  is  termed  the  fore-arm  in  the 
horse.  The  termination  of  the  ulna,  corresponding  with  the  elbow,  forms  an 
important  point  of  the  horse,  because  to  it  are  attached  powerful  muscles  for 
the  movement  of  the  limb.  Jockeys  accordingly  look  with  attention  to  the 
size  of  the  elbow  of  the  horse. 

The  remaining  bones  of  the  limb  correspond  with  the  bones  of  the  wrist,  the 
hand,  and  the  fingers,  in  man,  termed  respectively  the  carpal,  metacarpal,  and 
the  phalangeal  bones. 

The  carpal  bones  of  the  horse  are  commonly  called  the  bones  of  the  knee;  but 
these  bones  do  not  correspond  with  the  knee,  but  with  the  wrist,  of  the  human 
body.  They  are  8  in  number  in  the  horse  as  well  as  in  man.  In  man,  they 
give  flexibility  to  the  hand;  in  the  horse,  they  give  flexibility  to  the  limb  of 
support. 

The  next  bones  are  the  metacarpal  bones.  These  correspond  with  the 
bones  of  the  hand  in  man:  but  in  man  they  form  a  part  of  a  prehensile  organ; 
in  the  horse  they  are  extended  in  order  to  give  length  to  the  limb. 

The  bones  of  the  fetlock  and  foot  correspond  with  the  phalangeal  bones,  or 
bones  of  the  finger  in  man.  They  are  distinct  in  man;  they  are  together  in 
the  horse,  and,  touching  the  ground  at  their  extremities,  are  defended  by  horn. 

The  horse,  abstracted  from  his  neck,  and  viewed  in  profile,  is  contained 
nearly  within  a  square,  of  which  the  body  forms  one  half  and  the  limbs  form 
one  half.  In  this  respect  the  form  of  the  horse  differs  greatly  from  that  of  the 
ox,  the  body  and  limbs  of  the  ox,  abstracted  from  the  neck,  being  included  in  a 
rectangle,  in  the  manner  to  be  afterwards  shown,  and  the  body  forming  a 
greater  proportion  of  the  rectangle  than  the  limbs.  This  circumstance  would 
alone  account  for  the  greater  power  of  progression  of  the  horse  than  the  ox. 

In  the  horse,  while  sufficient  space  must  be  given  in  the  size  of  the  body  to 
the  respiratory  and  nutritive  organs,  this  space  must  not  be  too  great,  because 
then  the  body  will  bear  too  large  a  proportion  to  the  limbs  for  the  purpose  of 
active  motion.  In  the  ox  the  larger  the  proportion  of  the  fleshy  matter  of  the 
body  to  the  limbs  the  better. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  321 

lu  the  case  both  of  the  horse  and  the  ox,  the  large  expanded  chest  indicates 
a  disposition  to  fatten;  but  if  this  be  carried  too  far  in  the  horse,  he  will  be 
incapable  of  active  motion.  Such  a  form  may  suit  the  dray-horse,  when  a 
large  force  is  to  be  thrown  upon  the  collar;  but  would  be  unsuited  to  those  cases 
in  which  we  require  the  power  of  active  motion,  or,  in  technical  language, 
action. 

In  a  horse  where  speed  alone  is  required,  the  chest  must  not  be  too  broad; 
but  in  a  horse  in  which  we  require  active  motion,  combined  with  endurance, 
there  should  be  a  sufficient  breadth  of  chest;  and  a  medium,  therefore,  is  what 
is  desired  in  the  hackney  and  the  hunter.  In  the  farm-horse,  the  chest  should 
be  broad;  because  in  the  farm-horse  we  require  the  power  of  draught,  and  not 
of  speed. 

The  chest  of  the  horse  behind  the  shoulders  should  be  deep;  his  back,  when 
we  look  for  strength  without  sacrificing  this  to  mere  .speed,  should  be  short;_ 
the  ribs  should  approach  near  to  the  pelvis,  as  indicating  strength,  though,  if 
speed  alone  be  required,  this  point  may  be  sacrificed.  The  fore-arm  and  hind- 
leg,  to  the  joints,  should  be  muscular,  and  below  the  joints  tendinous.  The 
trunk  should  be  barrel-shaped,  but  somewhat  elliptical,  and  gently  enlarging 
from  the  breast  backwards. 

2.  Rearing  and  feeding. — In  the  breeding  of  the  horse,  it  is  important  that 
the  parent  ot"  either  sex  be  free  from  disease.  It  is  well  known  to  all  breeders, 
that  the  diseases  of  the  parents,  as  well  as  their  good  properties,  are  transferred 
to  their  offspring.  In  breeding,  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  female  as  well 
as  to  the  male  parent,  else  disappointment  may  result  with  respect  to  the  form 
and  properties  of  the  progeny. 

A  mare  is  capable  of  receiving  the  male  at  an  early  age;  but  it  is  an  error 
to  commence  breeding  from  any  mare  before  strength  has  been  acquired,  and 
her  form  developed;  and  this  will  rarely  be  sooner  than  at  three  or  four  years 
of  age. 

The  mare  comes  into  season  in  spring:  she  goes  with  young  about  eleven 
Qionths,  although  Avith  an  irregularity,  even  to  the  extent  of  several  weeks  on 
either  side  of  that  period.  The  most  convenient  time  for  her  receiving  the 
male  is  in  May,  that  she  may  foal  in  April,  when  the  herbage  begins  to  spring. 
From  the  time  she  receives  the  male  till  that  of  foaling,  the  farm-mare  may  be 
kept  at  her  usual  work.  She  will  give  notice  of  the  period  of  foaling,  by  the 
extension  of  the  udder,  and  other  symptoms,  and  she  may  then  be  released 
from  work. 

In  general,  little  difficulty  or  danger  attends  the  parturition  of  the  mare. 
She  rarely  requires  assistance;  but,  should  difficulty  really  arise,  from  the  par- 
ticular position  of  the  foetus,  it  is  well,  if  possible,  to  obtain  the  assistance  of  a 
veterinary  surgeon,  lest  the  mare  be  injured  by  unskilful  and  violent  means. 

As  soon  as  the  mare  has  foaled,  she  should  be  placed  with  her  young,  either 
in  a  house,  or,  what  is  better,  in  a  pasture-clo.se,  with  a  shed  to  which  she  may 
go  at  all  times.  It  is  necessary,  at  this  period,  to  supply  her  with  nourishing 
food. 

It  is  better  that  the  mother  be  kept  in  a  field,  and  permitted  to  suckle  the 
young  undisturbed.  But  yet  she  may  be  put,  without  danger  or  injury,  to 
moderate  work  within  a  short  time  after  foaling.  For  a  time,  the  foal  should 
be  shut  up  in  a  house  during  the  hours  of  work,  which  then  should  not  be  too 
long;  but,  after  the  colt  has  acquired  a  little  strength,  it  may  be  permitted  to 
follow  the  mother  even  when  at  work  in  the  fields.  Many,  indeed,  do  not  ap- 
prove of  this  practice,  on  account  of  the  chance  of  accidents  to  the  foal.  But 
accidents  seldom  occur,  and  the  foal  has  an  opportunity  of  taking  milk  more 
frequently,  is  the  better  for  the  exercise,  and  becomes  used  to  the  objects 
around  it. 

In  nine  days  or  more  after  foaling,  the  mare  will  be  again  in  season,  and 
may  receive  the  male.  In  six  months  the  foal  is  to  be  weaned,  which  is  done 
merely  by  separating  it  from  the  dam.  It  is  then  best  put  in  a  field:  the  mother 
is  then  put  to  her  ordinary  work,  and  treated  as  usual. 

At  the  time  of  weaning,  and  during  all  the  period  of  its  growth,  the  foal 
should  be  liberally  fed.    Bruised  oats,  meal,  or  any  farinaceous  food,  may  be 


322  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

given  to  it.  it  is  not  necessary  or  proper  that  it  be  pampered;  but  it  is  im- 
portant to  its  growth  and  vigour,  that  it  be  supplied  with  sutiicient  food. 

The  male  foal  intended  for  agricultural  purposes  must  be  castrated;  and  the 
best  period  for  performing  the  operation  is  at  the  age  of  twelvemonths.  Some 
do  it  before  weaning,  but  it  is  better  that  it  be  delayed  till  the  masculine  form 
of  the  animal  has  been  more  developed. 

If  the  colt  be  intended  for  the  saddle,  it  is  well  that  from  this  period  it  be 
accustomed  to  gentle  handling  by  the  person  who  feeds  it,  for  this  is  a  mean  of 
rendering  it  docile  and  good-tempered.  But  however  this  be,  nothing  but  kind- 
ness is  to  be  shown  to  these  young  creatures,  and  any  thing  like  rough  treat- 
ment is  to  be  carefully  avoided. 

The  colts  are  kept  in  their  pastures  during  the  summer,  and  when  these  fail 
before  winter,  the  animals  may  be  put  into  a  stable  or  3'ard  with  sheds,  and 
plentifully  littered  with  straw,  like  the  young  oxen  upon  the  farm.  They  may 
receive  straw  for  half  the  winter,  and  hay  towards  spring  when  the  straw  be- 
comes dry  and  unpalatable;  and  turnips,  or  any  green  food,  should  be  supplied 
to  tbem  freely  throughout  the  winter.  It  is  a  great  error  to  starve  colts,  for 
this  injures  their  growth  and  vigour  in  a  degree  far  beyond  the  value  of  the 
increased  food  required.  Although  they  may  be  confined  in  a  yard  in  the 
manner  described,  it  is  greatly  better,  where  convenience  allows,  that  they 
have  a  piece  of  ground  on  which  they  may  run  in  winter.  This  is  favourable, 
in  an  eminent  degree,  to  their  health,  and  the  state  of  their  feet. 

But,  however  the  colts  are  managed  in  winter,  as  early  in  spring  as  the  pas- 
tures will  allow,  they  are  to  be  turned  out  to  graze  in  the  fields,  where  they  are 
to  be  kept  during  summer;  and  in  the  following  winter  put  again  into  the 
yards  or  paddock,  and  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  before. 

And  they  are  to  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner  in  the  following  summer  and 
winter:  after  which,  namely,  when  three  )^ears  old,  they  will  be  in  a  condition 
to  be  broken  in,  and,  if  drauoht-horses,  employed  in  the  work  of  the  farm. 
They  may  be  taken  up  for  training  even  in  the  third  autumn  of  their  age, 
though  at  this  period  the  work  should  be  very  gentle. 

A  farm-horse  usually  receives  little  training,  though  it  is  better  that  a  par- 
tial training,  as  in  the  case  of  the  horse  intended  for  the  saddle,  be  given.  But 
whether  this  be  done  or  not,  the  colt  should  have  a  bridle  Avith  an  easy  bit  put 
upon  him  for  a  few  days,  and  allowed  to  champ  it  for  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time 
in  the  stall.  The  harness  being  then  put  upon  him  by  degrees,  he  maybe 
trained  to  the  ditferent  labours  requii'ed  of  him.  In  general,  the  farm-horse, 
working  with  his  fellows,  is  easily  brought  to  be  obedient. 

But  when  a  farm-horse  is  four  or  five  years  old  before  he  is  put  to  work,  or  if 
he  is  a  stallion,  or  if  he  shows  any  vice,  a  little  more  care  may  be  proper,  and  a 
partial  training,  as  if  he  were  intended  for  the  saddle,  given  him.  Anaif  heisa 
valuable  horse,  and  fit  also  for  the  saddle  and  the  carriage,  the  more  complete 
the  training  given  to  him  the  better. 

The  art  of  training  the  horse  for  the  saddle  is  now  well  understood,  and  the 
rude  and  violent  practices  of  former  times  are  generally  abandoned  by  all  who 
have  any  competent  knowledge  of  the  subject.  In  every  case,  gentleness  and 
kind  treatment  are  to  be  strictly  observed  in  the  management  of  the  colt.  He 
is  first  to  be  taught  his  duties,  and  corrected  afterwards  only  when  necessary 
to  enforce  submission.  Fear,  in  the  training  of  the  horse,  is  that  feeling  with 
which  he  is  soon  endued,  that  he  is  under  the  dominion  df  a  more  powerful 
agent,  whose  will  he  cannot  resist.  Implicit  submission  is  to  be  enforced, 
gently  in  .so  far  as  instruction  is  concerned,  but  by  calling  into  action  the  prin- 
ciple of  fear,  when  this  is  required  to  produce  obedience.  Decision  and  firm- 
ness, with  a  resolution  to  be  obeyed,  after  the  horse  has  been  fairly  taught  the 
duties  that  are  required  of  him,  are  altogether  distinct  from  violence  and  cru- 
elty. Nothing  is  so  destructive  to  the  temper  of  a  horse  as  usele.ss  coercion, 
and  all  the  defects  of  temper,  when  they  exist  in  the  young  horse,  arise,  in  the 
great  majority  of  cases,  from  injurious  treatment.  But  we  are  here  chiefly  to 
consider  the  management  of  the  horse  as  an  animal  of  labour. 

The  farm-horse  demands,  neither  in  the  training  nor  in  the  feeding,  that 
nicety  which  is  required  in  the  case  of  the  horse  designed  for  rapid  motion  or 
irregular  labour.    He  requires  merely  to  be  maintained  in  good  order,  nevg: 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  323 

to  be  worked  beyond  his  power,  and  never  to  be  allowed  to  fall,  in  condition, 
below  the  work  which  he  is  to  perform. 

The  stable  for  the  farm-horse,  as  for  every  other,  should  be  spacious  and 
well  ventilated.  It  is  a  great  error  to  .suppose  that  horses  require  a  close,  warm 
stable,  to  preserve  them  in  health.  To  keep  them  fully  sheltered,  and  free  from 
the  action  of  any  cold  current,  is  all  that  is  requLsite.  The  horse  is  well  suited 
to  bear  an  equal  temperature,  but  not  sudden  changes  produced  by  artificial 
means.  Farm-horses  regularly  worked  have  been  known  to  be  kept  through- 
out the  coldest  winters  in  mere  sheds,  not  only  without  injury,  but  with  greater 
benefit  to  their  health  than  if  they  had  been  closely  confined. 

Next  to  ventilation  in  importance,  is  cleanliness  of  the  stable.  No  filth  should 
be  sufl^ered  to  accumulate,  but  every  day  the  stable  should  be  cleaned  out,  with 
the  same  attention  for  the  farm  as  for  the  saddle-horse.  In  the  farm-horse 
stable,  every  ploughman  should  have  a  small  fork,  a  curry-comb,  a  brush,  a 
mane-comb,  and  a  foot-picker. 

Light  should  be  admitted  into  every  stable,  to  a  certain  extent.  But  in  the 
case  of  farm-horses,  which  are  only  in  the  stable  during  the  hours  of  rest  and 
feeding,  less  light  is  necessary  than  in  the  case  of  the  saddle-horse,  which 
passes  a  great  part  of  his  time  within  doors.  The  light  required  for  the  farm- 
horse  stable  is  that  which  is  sufiicient  to  allow  the  workmen  to  perform  their 
duties  in  the  daj^-time.  Sometimes  there  is  a  room  adjoining  the  stable  for 
holding  the  harness,  but  it  is  perfectly  convenient  and  sufficient  in  practice,  to 
have  the  simple  furniture  of  the  farm-horse  hung  on  pins  in  the  wall  behind 
each  pair  of  honses. 

The  food  of  the  horse  in  this  country  consists  of  herbage,  or  green  forage, 
as  clovers  and  sainfoin;  of  dried  forage,  as  hay  and  straw;  of  various  farina- 
ceous substances,  as  oats,  barley,  peas,  and  beans;  and  of  the  succulent  roots 
of  plants,  as  the  potato,  the  turnip,  the  carrot,  the  parsnep,  and  the  beet.  Of 
the  grains  given  to  the  horse,  the  most  generally  employed  in  this  country,  and 
that  which  is  regarded  as  well  adapted  to  his  strength  "and  spirit,  is  the  oat. 

The  oat  is,  for  the  most  part,  given  to  the  horse  without  any  preparation, 
though  it  is  sometimes  bruised,  which  is  always  beneficial,  by  rendering  it 
more  easily  masticated  and  digested.  It  is  usually  given  in  portions  at  a  time, 
familiarly  known  under  the  term  feeds,  the  measure  of  which,  however,  varies 
in  different  districts.  A  feed  in  some  places  consists  of  a  gallon,  being  the 
eighth  part  of  a  bushel,  and  weighing,  upon  a  medium,  about  4i  lbs. 

Two  gallons  in  the  day,  or  9  lbs.,  are  considered  to  be  good  feeding  when  the 
horse  is  ou  dry  food,  and  not  on  hard  work;  when  on  hard  work,  the  quantity 
may  be  increased  to  3  gallons,  and  when  on  light  work,  and  green  food,  it  ma}- 
be  reduced  to  I  gallon,  and  sometimes  altogether  withdrawn.  But  on  an 
average,  2  gallons  in  the  day,  that  is,  about  90  bushels  in  the  year,  will  be  suf- 
ficient in  every  case  for  the  working  horse  of  a  farm.  In  practice,  too,  it  is  not 
the  superior  but  the  lighter  oats  that  are  given  to  the  farm-horses.  These  are 
the  light  corn  formerly  described. 

Oats  may  be  given  to  horses  reduced  to  a  state  of  meal,  but  this  is  only  prac- 
tised in  the  case  of  gruel  given  to  a  sick  horse.  To  induce  a  horse  to  take 
gruel,  it  is  put  into  a  pail  and  placed  beside  him,  so  that  when  thirsty  he  may 
drink  of  it. 

Meal  is  sometimes  given  with  cold  water  to  horses,  when  travelling.  This 
is  a  refreshing  feed  to  a  horse  on  a  journey,  and  a  safe  one  when  the  chill  is 
just  taken  off  the  water;  but  it  is  chielly  employed  in  journeys  when  time  is  of 
importance,  and  it  is  accordingly  rarely  given  in  the  case  of  the  farm-horse, 
who  should  always  have  time  given  him  to  feed. 

When  oats  are  kept  in  a  damp  state,  fungi  grow  upon  them,  and  they  acquire 
a  musty  smell  and  had  taste.  They  should  never  be  given  in  this  state  to  a 
horse,  but  should  first  be  kiln-dried,  so  as  to  expel  the  moisture  and  destroy 
the  fungi. 

Barley  is  more  nutritious  than  oats,  although,  in  the  practice  of  this  coun- 
try, it  is  not  so  much  approved  of  in  I'eeding.  But  over  all  the  continent,  bar- 
ic}' is  the  most  common  food  of  the  horse.  If  bruised  and  mixed  with  chopped 
straw  or  hay,  it  is  an  excellent  provender.  But  the  most  common  method  of 
giving  barley  to  horses  in  England  is  in  what  is  termed  a  mash.     The  barley 


324  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

in  this  case  is  boiled  in  water,  and  the  -whole  is  then  allowed  to  stand  until  it 
is  sufficiently  cool.  The  mash  forms  admirable  feeding  for  a  sick  horse;  it 
keeps  the  bowels  open,  and  is  nutritive,  wiihout  being  healing. 

Wheat  is  rarely  used  for  the  feeding  of  the  horse,  the  proper  destination  of 
wheat  being  the  food  of  man.  The  only  case,  in  general,  in  which  wheat,  with 
a  regard  to  economy,  can  be  applied  to  the  feeding  of  the  horse,  is  in  that  of 
light  wheat,  which,  being  made  into  a  ma.sh,  may  be  given  to  a  sick  horse  in 
the  same  manner  as  barley. 

Beans  form  an  esteemed  food  for  the  horse.  They  are  somewhat  more 
astringent  than  oats,  and  correct  the  tendency  to  laxa'tiveness  when  it  exists. 
They  should  in  all  cases  be  bruised,  and  mixed  with  other  farinaceous  food. 

The  pea  is  similar  in  its  feeding  properties  to  the  bean,  and  is  even  supposed 
to  be  more  nutritive.  It  is,  however,  a  dangerous  food  to  be  given  in  too  great 
quantity,  from  its  tendency  to  swell  in  the  stomach.  It  should,  like  the  bean, 
be  bruised,  and  given  along  with  other  food. 

The  details  in  the  manner  of  feeding  the  farm-horse  necessarily  differ  ac- 
cording to  the  practices  of  different  districts.  The  following  is  a  system,  sim- 
ple, efficient,  and  capable  of  being  reduced  to  practice  upon  every  farm: — 

When  the  pastures,  or  other  green  food,  fail  in  autumn,  which  will  gene- 
rally be  by  the  beginning  of  October,  the  horses  are  to  be  put  on  hard  food. 
They  should  receive  at  this  period  an  allowance  of  hay  at  the  rate  of  20  lbs.  in 
the  day,  with  2  gallons  of  oats:  or,  in  place  of  a  portion  of  the  oats,  they  may 
receive  at  night  a  feed  of  steamed  food,  consisting  of  potatoes,  or  any  other 
roots,  mixed  with  a  little  corn,  and  seasoned  with  salt.  The  whole  quantity 
maybe  a  peck,  weighing  about  121bs.  The  quantity  of  potatoes  that  corresponds 
in  nourishment  with  oats,  is  in  the  proportion  of  about  15  lbs.  of  raw  potatoes 
to  I  gallon  of  oats. 

In  the  months  of  November.  December,  and  January,  when  the  days  and 
the  time  of  labour  are  short,  the  hay  may  be  withdrawn,  and  the  horses,  in 
place  of  it,  fed  on  straw,  of  which  the  best,  when  it  can  be  obtained,  is  that  of 
beans  or  peas.  Next  to  these  in  quality  is  that  of  oats.  The  straw  of  wheat 
and  barley  is  in  this  country  only  used  as  litter,  though,  were  it  to  be  cut  into 
chaff,  it  could  be  advantageously  used  as  fodder. 

At  this  time  the  horses  should  receive  2  gallons  of  oats  in  the  day;  or  the 
quantity  of  oats  may  be  diminished,  and  a  portion  of  steamed  food  given  at 
night.  They  should  receive,  as  before,  two  feeds,  one  in  the  morning  before 
going  to  work,  and  one  at  mid-day,  and  their  steamed  food  at  night.  By  the 
beginning  of  February,  they  should  again  be  put  on  hay,  in  preparation  for 
their  harder  work  in  spring.  At  or  before  the  time  of  sowing  the  oats,  that 
being  the  commencement  of  the  season  of  active  labour,  the  horses  should  re- 
ceive their  full  allowance  of  3  gallons  of  oats  in  the  day,  or,  in  place  of  a  por- 
tion of  their  dry  oats,  a  corresponding  allowance  of  steamed  food.  They  should 
be  fed  three  times  in  the  day,  a  feed  of  oats  being  given  in  the  morning,  a  feed 
at  mid-day  between  the  intervals  of  work,  and  at  night  they  may  either  receive 
their  third  feed  of  dry  oats,  or  a  corresponding  quantity  of  steained  food  mixed 
with  their  oats. 

They  are  to  receive  this  full  allowance  of  hay  and  corn  until  about  the  be- 
ginning of  June,  when  they  may  receive  green  food,  on  which  they  are  fed 
during  the  remainder  of  the  season,  their  daily  allowance  of  oats  being  reduced 
to  1  gallon. 

Three  methods  of  feeding  them  on  green  food  may  be  adopted: — they  may 
be  turned  out  to  pasture  in  the  fields;  they  may  have  green  forage  cut  and 
brought  home  to  them  in  the  yards  or  stalls;  or  they  maybe  fed  in  the  intervals 
of  work  on  green  food,  and  turned  out  in  the  evening  to  the  fields  to  pasture. 

When  the  first  of  these  methods  is  adopted,  that  is,  when  the  horses  are 
simply  pastured,  they  are  merely  turned  out  to  the  field  at  night  after  work; 
they  are  caught  again,  or  driven  home  to  the  stables,  in  the  morning,  and  then 
again  turned  out  after  the  morning's  work,  which  may  be  about  10  o'clock,  and 
allowed  to  feed  till  the  afternoon's  work,  which  may  begin  about  1  o'clock; 
they  are  then  caught  and  again  set  to  work. 

The  defects  of  this  mode  of  management  are  apparent.  Time  is  lost  in  taking 
the  animals  to  and  from  the  field  during  the  intervals  of  work;  and  then,  having 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS,  325 

to  gather  their  own  food,  thej^  have  too  short  a  time  for  rest  and  feeding  during 
the  interval. 

The  second  practice  mentioned  is,  to  turn  the  horses  out  to  pasture  at  night 
after  work,  but  in  the  interval  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  to  give  them  cut  green 
forage,  which  is  brought  home,  and  given  to  them  in  the  stall  or  stable.  In 
this  manner  they  feed  at  leisure,  undisturbed  by  insects,  and  having  their  food 
collected  to  them,  waste  no  time  in  gathering  it  in  those  hours  which  are  suf- 
fered to  elapse  between  the  labour  of  the  morning  and  that  of  the  afternoon. 
This  is  an  approved  method  of  managing  the  horses  of  the  farm.  Their  health 
is  the  better  for  their  being  kept  out  at  night,  while  the  advantage  of  this  is 
combined  with  the  economical  practice  of  soiling. 

The  other  method  of  feeding  is,  to  keep  the  horses  constantly  in  the  stable, 
or  in  a  yard  with  sheds,  and  to  feed  them  entirely  on  green  forage.  There 
is  economy  with  respect  to  feeding  in  this  system,  and  though  it  would  seem 
to  be  scarcely  so  conducive  to  the  permanent  health  of  horses,  as  to  give  them 
a  run  out  in  the  fields  in  the  summer  nights,  yet  it  is  found  to  be  perfectly  suited 
to  the  habits  and  condition  of  the  farm-horse.  "Where  it  is  practised,  it  is  better 
to  keep  the  horses  in  yards  with  sheds,  than  to  confine  them  entirely  to  the 
stables.  To  carry  on  a  system  of  soiling  where  clover  and  rye-grass  are  the 
forage  plants  employed,  a  quantity  of  tares,  equal  to  i  acre  for  each  horse, 
shoiild  be  sown,  to  be  given  to  the  horses  in  the  intervals  between  the  first  and 
second  cuttmg  of  clover,  or  when  they  are  engaged  at  hard  work  in  harvest, 
or  at  other  times. 

In  the  northern  parts  of  this  country,  farmers  cannot  generally  begin  to  cut 
clover  till  the  1st  of  June;  but  in  the  southern  part  of  the  country,  the  soiling 
can  be  commenced  much  earlier.  V/hen  there  are  many  horses,  one  man  may 
be  employed  to  do  the  work  of  cutting  and  putting  the  cut  forage  in  bunches, 
and  it  should  be  taken  home  by  a  spare  horse,  so  as  to  be  ready  when  the  horses 
return  from  work.  One  man  will  put  into  bunches  a  quantity  sufficient  for  20 
horses,  and  each  horse  will  consume  upon  an  average  about  200  lbs.  in  a  day. 

When  the  horses  are  turned  out  to  the  fields  at  night,  and  kept  on  cut  forage 
during  the  day,  they  should  be  put  into  their  stables  by  the  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember, and  kept  in  the  house  during  the  night,  receiving  green  forage  if  it  is 
yet  upon  the  farm,  or  else  receiving  hay.  By  the  1st  of  October  they  should 
generally  be  put  upon  hay  and  corn. 

This,  then,  forms  the  circle  of  feeding  of  the  horses  of  the  farm: — They  are 
put  on  hard  food  by  the  beginning  of  October,  receiving  hay  and  a  medium 
allowance  of  oats.  In  the  months  of  November,  December,  and  January,  their 
hay  is  withdrawn,  and  they  are  put  on  straw,  receiving  a  moderate  allowance 
of  oats.  In  February,  they  are  again  put  on  hay,  with  a  full  allowance  of  oats, 
until  about  the  commencement  of  June,  when  they  are  put  on  green  food,  with 
a  lessened  allowance  of  oats,  and  either  fed  entirely  on  cut  forage,  or  pastured 
during  the  night,  receiving  cut  forage  during  the  intervals  of  work  in  the  day. 

In  the  practice  of  feeding  farm-horses,  the  utmost  care  must  be  taken  that 
they  never  be  allowed  to  get  out  of  condition.  In  this  case,  not  only  are  they 
unable  to  perform  their  work,  but  it  requires  a  much  greater  expense  to  bring 
them  again  into  order,  than  it  would  have  required  to  keep  them  so. 

In  feeding  horses,  even  when  upon  hard  work,  a  practice  has  been  intro- 
duced of  feeding  the  horses  entirely  on  boiled  or  steamed  food,  with  chopped 
hay  and  straw.  The  proportions  of  the  different  kinds  of  food  employed  in  this 
manner  are  not  subject  to  rule.  But  about  ^  in  Aveight  of  the  whole  may  con- 
sist of  the  chaff  of  straw,  \  of  the  chaff  of  hay,  \  of  bruised  or  coarsely  ground 
grain,  and  i  may  consist  of  steamed  potatoes.  To  this  should  be  added  about 
2  oz.  of  common  salt.  From  30  to  35  lbs.  of  this  mixed  provender,  or  on  an 
averaare  32^  lbs.  in  24  hours,  will  suffice  for  any  horse. 

Two  methods  may  be  adopted  in  the  giving  of  this  food.  Either  the  whole 
substances  may  be  mixed  together,  and  a  certain  proportion  given  to  the  horses 
three  or  four  times  in  the  day;  or  the  dried  food  alone  may  be  given  during  the 
first  part  of  the  day,  and  the  steamed  food  mixed  with  a  portion  of  the  dried 
food  in  a  mess  at  night. 

In  the  first  case,  that  is,  when  the  whole  mess  is  to  be  mixed  together,  the 
28 


326  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

potatoes  or  other  steamed  food  are  first  to  be  prepared,  then  weighed  and  mixed 
with  the  chopped  straw  or  hay,  and  with  the  bruised  oats. 

The  quantity  for  24  hours  being  mixed  and  prepared,  the  proportion  for  each 
horse  is  to  be  weighed  and  set  apart  in  its  proper  pail,  and  given  to  each  horse 
at  three  or  more  times,  as  shall  best  suit  with  the  work  with  which  he  is  en- 
gaged, taking  care  that  considerably  the  largest  quantity  shall  be  given  at 
night. 

When  this  method  of  feeding  is  adopted  upon  a  farm,  it  should  be  confined 
entirely  to  the  months  of  winter,  for  the  horses  of  a  farm  will  always  be  best 
and  most  economically  fed  during  the  months  of  summer  on  pasture  and  green 
forage. 

From  the  mixed  nature  of  our  husbandry,  the  habits  of  the  people,  and  the 
attention  paid  to  the  rearing  of  the  horse,  a  long  and  general  preference  has 
been  given  to  this  animal  for  the  labours  of  the  farm.  In  certain  districts  of 
England  the  ox  is  still  the  more  common  beast  of  labour;  but  in  by  much  the 
greater  number,  the  ox  is  either  unknown  as  an  animal  of  draught,  or  em- 
ployed only  partially  as  an  assistant. 

The  ox  is  a  less  expensive  animal  to  rear  to  the  age  of  labour  than  the  horse; 
his  subsequent  cost  of  maintenance  is  smaller;  he  requires  less  care  and  at- 
tendance, and  he  is  less  subject  to  accidents  and  diseases.  He  has  this  further 
advantage  over  the  horse,  that,  at  a  certain  age,  when  unfit  for  labour,  he  can 
be  fattened,  whereas  the  horse  declines  after  a  time,  and  becomes  useless.  But 
the  ox,  though  well  suited  for  a  slow  and  steady  draught,  such  as  the  plough 
demands,  is  not  so  well  adapted  for  active  motion  or  distant  carriages  as  the 
horse.  Although  patient  of  labour,  he  sinks  under  extreme  fatigue,  and  is  not 
capable  of  those  sudden  exertions  which  the  diversified  operations  of  our  agri- 
culture require.  The  horse,  therefore,  which  unites  force  of  draught  with 
quick  action,  facility  of  travelling,  and  the  power  of  bearing  great  fatigue,  is  in 
these  respects  better  suited  than  the  ox  to  the  varied  labours  of  an  extended 
farm.  As  agriculture,  accordingly,  has  improved,  the  use  of  oxen  has  given 
place  to  that  of  horses  for  the  common  purposes  of  the  farm. 

Being  thus  employed  as  the  principal  or  only  animal  of  draught  on  farms  of 
this  country,  bemg  in  universal  demand  for  carriages  of  every  kind,  and  for 
the  innumerable  purposes  to  which  he  is  adapted,  the  breeding  and  rearing  of 
the  horse  form  an  important  branch  in  rural  economy. 

The  training  of  horses  is  a  matter  of  great  nicety.  They 
are  trained  for  various  purposes,  but  mainly  for  the  conveyance 
of  our  persons,  or  the  transportation  of  our  goods.  In  old  times 
burdens  were  transported  from  place  to  place  on  the  backs  of 
pack-horses — and  this  is  still  the  case  in  many  new  settlements, 
and  mountainous  regions.  But  as  improvements  took  place  in 
roads,  vehicles,  suitable  for  carriage,  and  drawn  by  horses  in 
harness,  were  substituted. 

In  training  saddle-horses  the  first  thing  is  to  make  them 
familiar  with  man,  and  other  general  objects,  and  which  is  best 
effected  at  the  earliest  periods,  which  saves  much  trouble  in 
the  breaking — and  docility  follows  as  a  matter  of  course.  To 
accomplish  this,  the  greatest  kindness  should  be  used  towards 
the  colts  from  the  time  they  are  dropped.  They  should  be 
frequently  handled,  fed  occasionally  with  bread  from  the  hand, 
patted  on  various  parts  of  the  body,  have  light  matters  put  on 
their  heads  and  backs,  and  subjects  of  different  colours  and 
forms  should  be  shown  them  with  caution.  The  mare  and 
foal  should  be  led  out  into  roads  where  carriages  pass,  but 
nothing  should  be  suffered  to  intimidate  the  foal.     The  animal 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  327 

is  thus  easily  prepared  for  future  operations — and  it  is  thus  that 
the  single  foal  the  ploughed-land  farmer  breeds,  and  which 
daily  follows  the  mother  in  her  work,  as  it  were,  breaks  itself. 

Backing  is  the  next  operation,  and  is  a  matter  of  great 
moment,  as  the  future  value  of  the  animal  depends  upon  it.  It 
should  be  commenced  when  the  colt  is  from  two  and  a  half  to 
three  years  old,  and  if  it  has  been  previously  kindly  treated, 
it  will  not  be  found  a  difficult  task,  and  will  require  to  accom- 
plish it,  nothing  but  patience  and  gentle  usage.  After  becom- 
ing habituated  to  the  saddle,  and  somewhat  obedient,  he  is  to 
be  taken  to  some  ploughed  land,  where  he  is  to  be  walked  or 
trotted  until  slightly  fatigued.  If  refractory,  and  he  refuses  to 
lift  his  feet  sufficiently  high  on  the  ploughed  land,  let  a  field 
and  a  road  be  used  alternately.  To  ensure  obedience,  this  pre- 
liminary practice  should  be  performed  in  a  cavesson.* 

Two  persons,  it  will  be  understood,  are  engaged  in  this  ope- 
ration, one  of  whom  takes  the  colt  by  the  head  and  leads  or 
trots  him  as  necessary.  When,  from  the  nature  of  the  exer- 
cise, he  is  perfectly  tractable,  let  a  person,  familiar  to  the  ani- 
mal, lay  himself  gently  and  by  degrees  across  his  back,  and  if 
the  colt  is  not  alarmed,  he  should  be  led  at  a  foot-pace  with  his 
burthen,  another  horse  and  rider  going  before  him.  One  leg 
should  be  gently  slid  over  his  back,  the  person  at  his  head 
attracting  his  attention  and  encouraging  him.  The  rider  raises 
himself  gradually  up,  and  the  next  step  is  to  mount  him  in  the 
usual  way,  which  must  by  no  means  be  done  suddenly  or  at  a 
jerk,  but  very  slowly  by  several  gradual  risings. 

This  being  accomplished  and  borne  patiently,  the  rider  fixes 
himself  firmly  in  the  saddle.  He  should  then  be  led  after  the 
otlier  horse,  and  from  a  walk  proceed  to  a  slow  trot.  If  he 
hesitates  or  faulters,  mild  measures  must  be  used  perseveringly, 
and  they  have  never  failed.  If  not,  before  he  is  exhausted, 
suspend  the  operation,  and  when  resumed  on  the  following 
day,  the  rider  should  mount  and  dismount  several  times,  al- 
ways caressing  the  animal  and  using  the  most  soothing  language. 
In  preparing  him  for  this  process,  it  is  the  practice  of  some 
eminent  horsemen,  to  lay  a  small  weight  on  the  saddle,  in- 
creasing from  time  to  time,  until  it  is  equal  to  the  weight  of  a 
man  of  ordinary  size. 

By  this  process,  horses  may  be  broken  without  a  blow,  and 
though  sufficiently  tamed,  they  preserve  their  native  spirit  un- 
impaired. In  teaching  a  horse  to  draw,  he  should  be  placed 
alongside  the  most  docile  and  gentle  on  the  farm;  and  the 

*  Caveron,  Ft. — A  nose  band  which  is  placed  on  the  nose  of  a  young  horse 
to  facilitate  the  breaking  of  him. 


328  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

draught  should  be  light  at  first,  and  may  be  gradually  increased 
until  he  has  acquired  the  habit  of  drawing  steadily.  When 
thoroughly  broken  in  the  team,  he  may  be  put  to  the  single 
draught;  but  at  first  the  loads  should  be  light. 

The  three  natural  and  ordinary  movements  of  horses  are, 
walking,  trotting  and  galloping,  to  which,  says  Parkinson, 
some  horses  naturally  add  another,  which  is  known  by  the 
name  of  "ambling"  or  "pacing."  The  trot  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  natural  motion  of  a  horse;  but  the  pace  and  even  gallop, 
are  most  easy  to  the  rider. 

The  diseases  of  the  horse  are  as  numerous  and  as  important 
as  his  complicated  structure,  and  the  artificial  state  of  his  pre- 
sent mode  of  life  would  lead  one  to  expect.  Until  of  late  years, 
the  treatment  of  these  diseases  was  confided  to  the  hands  of 
generally  the  ignorant  and  presumptuous;  but  now,  a  highly 
improved  practice  exists,  and  its  blessings  are  widely  difi"used. 


n.    THE  ASS  AND  THE  MULE. 

The  ass,  {Equus  asinns,)  is  a  native  of  the  mountainous 
deserts  of  Asia.  They  abound  in  Tartary,  Arabia,  and  Persia, 
and  have  been  the  servant  of  man  from  the  earliest  records  of 
the  human  race.  He  is  at  present  domesticated  throughout 
most  civilized  countries;  but  on  his  native  deserts  and  moun- 
tains only  is  he  seen  in  his  perfect  state.  The  manners  of 
the  wild  ass  are  in  many  respects  similar  to  those  of  the  wild 
horse;  extremely  shy  and  vigilant,  and  marshalling  themselves 
together  under  the  direction  of  a  leader  or  sentinel.  They 
feed  on  the  most  saline  and  bitter  plants,  and  prefer  the  m.ost 
brackish  water  to  fresh.  They  are  proverbial  for  their  swift- 
ness. When  domesticated,  they  are  remarkable  for  their  meek- 
ness, patience,  tranquillity  and  attachment  to  their  masters. 
The  ass  and  the  mule  feed  on  the  coarsest  herbage;  but  the  ass 
will  slake  his  thirst  at  none  but  the  clearest  fountains  and 
brooks. 

W^ere  we  to  judge  of  the  value  and  importance  of  this  crea- 
ture from  the  feeble  services  he  is  able  to  render  us  in  his  pre- 
sent oppressed  and  degraded  state,  we  should  form  a  very  false 
estimate  of  his  importance.  He  is  an  inhabitant  of  the  deserts, 
and  an  invaluable  servant  in  the  burning  regions  in  which  na- 
ture has  fitted  him  to  exist.  But  3'et  more  than  this,  he  is  en- 
dowed with  the  power  of  propagating  a  race  of  creatures  of  the 
highest  importance  to  many  countries.     The  7?iide,  to  which 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  329 

we  refer,  as  an  animal  of  burden  in  a  rocky  and  precipitous 
country,  far  excels  the  horse  or  any  other  animal — and  coun- 
tries would  remain  separated  from  each  other,  by  impassable 
barriers,  were  it  not  for  the  matchless  sagacity,  patience  and 
sure-footedness  of  the  mule.  The  hinny,  is  the  hybrid  pro- 
duce between  the  she-ass  and  a  stallion,  but  being  of  little  or 
no  value  the  race  is  not  cultivated. 


III.    NEAT  CATTLE— THE  OX. 

Naturalists  enumerate  eight  species  of  the  ox  family,  viz: 
1.  Bos  urus,  the  aurochs  or  bison  of  the  ancients.  2.  Bos 
bison,  the  bison  or  buffalo  of  America.  3.  Bos  moschatus, 
the  musk  ox.  4.  ^o^y/'O/i/a/e'^,  the  gayal.  5.  Bos  grunniens, 
the  grunting  ox.  6.  Bos  caffer,  the  cape  buffalo.  7.  Bos 
bubalus,  the  common  buffalo.  S.  Bos  taurus,  the  domestic  ox. 
Of  these  species,  the  aurochs,  the  bison  of  America,  the  musk 
ox,  and  the  cape  buffalo,  have  not  been,  and  probably  never 
will  be  domesticated.  The  cultivation  and  use  of  the  gayal 
and  the  grunting  ox,  is  confined  to  Asia.  The  species  reared 
in  Europe,  are  the  common  buffalo  and  the  domestic  ox.  In 
the  United  States,  the  culture  and  improvement  of  the  domestic 
ox,  has  been  attended  to  exclusively,  our  best  animals  being  a 
mixture  of  the  best  native  with  imported  stock  of  superior  ex- 
cellence. 

The  common  buffalo,  now  an  important  animal  in  the  rural 
economy  of  Italy,  was  introduced  into  that  country  about  the 
beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  from  Eastern  India.  He  is 
used  by  the  Italians  as  food.  He  is  not  a  dainty  animal,  pre- 
ferring the  rank  herbage  of  marshes  and  ferns  to  the  richest 
pasture.  But  he  is  sluggish  in  his  movements.  The  milk  of 
the  female  is  good,  but  its  flesh  is  not  esteemed.  This  species 
is  cultivated  to  some  extent  in  Greece  and  Hungary. 

The  term  cattle,  in  its  most  extensive  sense,  embraces  all  the 
large  domestic  quadrupeds  which  are  used  by  man  for  draught 
or  food.  In  the  usual  acceptation  of  the  word  it  is  confined  to 
the  ox,  or  what  is  called  black  or  horned  cattle.  But  as  some 
are  not  black,  and  others  hornless,  the  name  oi  neat  cattle  ap- 
pears more  appropriate.  The  rearing  and  feeding  of  cattle  is 
a  very  important  branch  of  agricultural  industry,  as  much  of 
the  prosperity  of  the  farmer  depends  on  the  judicious  manage- 
ment of  live  stock,  without  which  his  land  cannot  be  maintain- 
ed in  a  proper  state  of  fertility.  The  breeding  and  fattening 
38* 


330  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

of  cattle,  are  now  considered  generally  as  two  distinct  occu- 
pations.* 

Of  all  the.  species  the  domestic  ox  is  most  generally  diffused, 
and  beyond  all  calculation  the  most  valuable.  He  has  existed 
in  a  domesticated  state  beyond  all  the  records  of  history  and 
tradition;  and  we  are,  therefore,  left  to  conjecture  alone,  as  to 
the  parent  stock.  Like  all  animals  necessary  to  the  comfort 
and  subsistence  of  man,  he  suits  himself  in  a  wonderful  degree 
to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed.  In  size,  he  scarce 
exceeds  the  deer,  in  those  regions  where  the  herbage  is  scanty; 
but  where  it  is  abundant  and  nutritious,  he  attains  a  large 
growth.  He  is  found  from  the  equator  almost  to  the  limits  of 
vegetable  life,  and  is  every  where  subservient  to  the  wants  and 
conveniences  of  the  human  race. 

The  female  is  in  a  most  remarkable  degree  subordinate  to 
the  interests  of  mankind.  She  is  every  where  docile,  patient 
and  humble.  Milk,  which  forms  so  nutritive  an  aliment  for 
the  human  species,  is  yielded  by  her,  with  an  abundance  and 
facility  unknown  in  the  case  of  any  other  animal.  She  has  a 
more  capacious  udder  than  an)'^  creature  known  to  us.  Although 
she  gives  birth  to  but  one  young  at  a  time,  she  has  four  teats. 
Like  the  sheep  and  the  goat,  she  yields  milk  freely  to  the  hand, 
although  far  more  abundantly;  whilst  many  other  animals  re- 
fuse their  milk,  unless  their  own  young  or  some  other  animal 
be  allowed  to  pai'take  of  it,  by  sucking  them. 

Many  circumstances  have  occurred,  stretching  through  a 
series  of  years,  to  render  live  stock  an  object  of  very  great 
importance  to  the  farmer — and  notwithstanding  the  great  ad- 
vances made,  and  still  progressing  in  other  branches  of  hus- 
bandry, none  has  undergone  a  greater  change  of  system,  or  has 
received  more  manifest  improvement,  than  the  breeding,  rear- 
ing, and  management  of  cattle.  The  varieties  of  the  cultivated 
ox  or  cattle,  are  the  European,  Indian,  Zebu,Surat,  Abyssinian, 
Madagascar,  Tinian  and  African.  From  the  European  variety 
has  been  found  the  different  breeds  cultivated  in  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States;  our  native  stock,  as  it  is  termed,  having 
been  principally  derived  from  England;  but  many  of  the  cat- 
tle of  the  middle  states  are  descended  from  the  stock  originally 
brought  over  in  great  numbers  by  the  early  Dutch  and  Ger- 
man emigrants. 

They  are  very  numerous;  but  we  only  notice  such  as  are  in 
most  esteem,  and  from  which  our  present  stock  is  derived. 
We  consider  it  important  to  our  farmers  generally,  and  espe- 
cially to  those  who  are  just  entering  upon,  or  are  about  to 

*  Penny  C}  clopaedia,  vol.  vi.  p.  378. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  33 1 

engage  in  the  most  rational  and  delightful  of  all  pursuits — agri- 
culture— to  have  some  knowledge  of  the  different  breeds  or 
classes  of  animals.  Our  limits  admonish  us  of  the  necessity  of 
brevity,  and  in  our  present  description  of  neat  cattle,  we  pre- 
sume no  more  than  to  give  a  bird's-eye,  but  still  faithful  view 
of  the  different  breeds,  their  structure,  rearing  and  breeding, 
mode  of  management,  &c.  derived  from  the  best  authorities. 
The  varieties  of  cattle  are  greatly  diversified,  both  by  the  dif- 
ferent natural  circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed,  and  by 
the  effects  of  art  in  changing  their  properties  and  form.  To 
these  varieties  is  generally  applied  the  term  breeds. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  great  varieties  of  breeds  in 
Great  Britain,  from  whence  we  have  derived  our  imported 
stock,  almost  as  various  as  the  districts  in  which  they  are 
reared.  As  a  matter  of  convenience,  they  have  been  classed 
according  to  their  horns.  1.  The  long-horns,  originally  im- 
proved by  that  most  eminent  breeder,  Robert  Bakewell,* 
became  established  in  the  midland  counties.     2.  The  short- 

*  Mr.  YouATT,  in  his  admirable  work — History  of  Biitish  Cattle — says,  that 
it  is  a  disgrace  to  the  agriculture  of  the  times,  that  Baicewell  should  have  been 
sutfered  to  pass  away  without  an  authentic  record  of  the  man — the  principles 
that  guided  him — and  the  means  by  which  his  objects  were  accomplished. 
All  that  we  are  enabled  to  furnish  our  readers  on  this  point,  is  gleaned  from 
a  fugitive  paper  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine — year  or  volume  not  given — 
from  which  we  learn  that  Robert  Bakewell  was  born  at  Dishley,  in  Leices- 
tershire, England,  about  the  year  1725.  His  father  and  grandfather  had  re- 
sided on  the  same  estate. 

Possessed  of  an  observing  and  discriminating  mind,  he  was  forcibly  struck 
with  the  great  similarity  existing  among  domestic  animals.  After  a  careful 
and  laborious  investigation,  of  this  (to  him)  interesting  and  important  subject, 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  by  selecting  from  the  most  valuable  stock,  and 
pursuing  a  steady  progressive  system,  he  would  be  able,  in  the  course  of  time, 
to  produce  a  breed,  possessing  many  very  superior  points  or  qualities.  For 
this  purpose  he  travelled  extensively,  and  examined  the  different  breeds.  The 
result  was,  that  he  chose  as  the  basis  of  his  intended  improvetpents,  the  long 
horned  breed  as  it  then  existed.  The  precise  steps  which  he  followed  in  the 
course  of  his  experiments  are  unknown.  It  is  supposed  by  some — but  not  sup- 
ported by  an  examination  of  the  breed  that  he  produced — that  he  crossed  the 
native  long-horns  with  some  other  variety. 

Many  }''ears  did  not  pass  by  before  his  stock  was  unrivalled  for  the  round- 
ness of  its  form — the  smallness  of  its  bone — its  aptitude  to  acquire  external  fat 
— while  they  were  small  consumers  of  food  in  proportion  to  their  size.  But 
their  qualities  as  milkers  were  much  lessened.  The  grazier  could  not  too 
highly  value  the  Dishley  or  New  Leicester  short-horns — but  the  dairyman 
clung  to  the  old  breed  as  most  useful  for  his  purpose. — British  Cattle^  192. 
He  lived  to  witne.ss  the  complete  triumph  of  his  system — the  overthrow  of  its 
opponents — the  dissipation  of  all  prejudice.  He  died  (1795)  verging  on  his 
seventieth  year.  His  countenance  bespoke  activity,  and  a  high  degree  of 
benevolence.  His  manners  were  frank  and  pleasing,  and  well  calculated  to 
maintain  the  extensive  popularity  he  had  acquired.  His  hospitality  to 
strangers  was  bounded  only  by  his  means.  Many  anecdotes  are  related  of 
his  humanity  to  the  brute  creation.  He  would  not"  suffer  the  slightest  act  of 
cruelty  to  be  perpetrated  by  any  of  his  servants,  and  he  sternly  deprecated  the 
barbarities  practised  by  drovers  and  butchers,  showing  by  examples  on  his 
own  farm,  the  most  pleasing  instances  of  docility  in  every  animal. 


332  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

horns,  improved  in  Durham,  whence  the  latter  name,  widely 
diffused  throughout  the  kingdom,  especially  in  all  dairy  dis- 
tricts, on  account  of  their  peculiar  milking  qualities.  3.  The 
middle-horns,  a  distinct,  valuable  and  beautiful  breed,  without 
any  mixture  whatever  with  the  two  preceding  classes.  These, 
however,  have  been  intermixed  in  every  possible  way,  and  are 
found  pure  only  in  their  native  districts — as  for  instance  the 
long-horns  in  Leicestershire — the  short-horns  in  Durham — and 
the  middle-horns  in  Devon.  But  the  more  natural,  main  or 
proper  division  of  breeds,  we  conceive  to  be  into  those  of  the 
mountains  and  those  of  the  plains. 

The  proper  form  and  shape  of  cattle  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  tbe 
farmer  and  breeder,  for  whatever  may  be  the  breed,  there  are  certain  confor- 
mations which  are  indispensable  to  the  thriving  and  valuable  ox  or  cow. 
When  we  have  a  clear  idea  of  these,  we  shall  be  able  more  easily  to  form  an 
accurate  judgment  of  the  different  breeds.  If  there  is  one  part  of  the  frame, 
the  form  of  which,  more  than  of  any  other,  renders  the  animal  valuable,  it  is 
the  chest.  There  must  be  room  enough  for  the  heart  to  beat,  and  the  lungs  to 
play,  or  sufficient  blood  for  the  purposes  of  nutriment  and  of  strength  will  not 
be  circulated;  nor  will  it  thoroughly  undergo  that  vital  change,  which  is  es- 
t^ential  to  the  proper  discharge  of  every  function.  We  look,  therefore,  first  of 
all  to  the  wide  and  deep  girth  about  the  heart  and  lungs.  We  must  have 
both:  the  proportion  in  which  the  one  or  the  other  may  preponderate,  will  de- 
pend on  the  service  we  require  from  the  animal;  we  can  excuse  a  slight  degree 
of  flatness  of  the  sides,  for  he  will  be  lighter  in  the  forehand,  and  more  active; 
but  the  grazier  must  have  width  as  well  as  depth.  And  not  only  about  the 
heart  and  lungs,  but  over  the  whole  of  the  ribs,  must  we  have  both  length  and 
roundness;  the  hooped,  as  well  as  the  deep  barrel  is  essential;  there  must  be 
room  for  the  capacious  paunch,  room  for  the  materials  from  which  the  blood 
is  to  be  provided.  The  beast  should  also  be  ribbed  home;  there  should  be  little 
space  between  the  ribs  and  the  hips.  This  seems  to  be  indispensable  in  the 
ox,  as  it  regards  a  good  healthy  constitution,  and  a  propensity  to  fatten;  but  a 
largeness  and  drooping  of  the  belly  is  excusable  in  the  cow,  or  rather,  notwith- 
standing it  diminishes  the  beauty  of  the  animal,  it  leaves  room  for  the  udder; 
and  if  it  is  also  accompanied  by  swelling  milk  veins,  it  generally  indicates  her 
value  in  the  dairy. 

This  roundness  and  depth  of  the  barrel,  however,  is  most  advantageous  in 
proportion  as  it  is  found  behind  the  point  of  the  elbow,  more  than  between  the 
shoulders  and  legs:  or  low  down  between  the  legs,  rather  than  upwards  to- 
wards the  withers:  for  it  diminishes  the  heaviness  before,  and  the  compara- 
tive bulk  of  the  coarser  parts  of  the  animal,  which  is  always  a  very  great  con- 
sideration. 

The  loins  should  be  wide:  of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  they  are  the 
prime  parts;  they  should  seem  to  extend  far  along  the  back:  and  although  the 
belly  should  not  hang  down,  the  flanks  should  be  round  and  deep.  Of  the  hips 
it  is  superfluous  to  say  that,  without  being  ragged,  they  should  be  large;  round 
rather  than  wide,  and  presenting,  when  handled,  plenty  of  muscle  and  fai. 
The  thighs  should  be  full  and  long,  close  together  when  viewed  from  behind, 
and  the  farther  down  they  continue  to  be  so  the  better.  The  legs  short,  vary- 
ing like  other  parts  according  to  the  destination  of  the  animal;  but  decidedly 
short,  for  there  is  an  almost  inseparable  connection  between  length  of  leg  and 
lightness  of  carcass,  and  shortness  of  leg  and  propensity  to  fatten.  The  bones 
of  the  legs,  and  they  only  being  taken  as  a  sample  of  the  bony  structure  of  the 
frame  generally,  should  be  small,  but  not  too  small — small  enough  for  the  well 
known  accompaniment,  a  propensity  to  fatten — small  enough  to  please  the  con- 
sumer; but  not  so  small  as  to  indicate  delicacy  of  constitution,  and  liability  to 
disease. 

Last  of  all  the  hide — the  most  important  thing  of  all — thin,  but  not  so  thin 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  333 

as  10  indicate  that  the  animal  can  endure  no  hardship;  moveable,  mellow,  but 
uot  too  loose,  and  particularly  well  covered  with  fine  and  soil  hair.* 

The  WILD  BREED,  from  which  the  improved  breeds  have 
descended,  being  untameable,  are  very  rarely  met  with  in  Eu- 
rope; a  few  are  to  be  found,  says  Mr.  Cully,  in  the  parks  of 
some  public  spirited  gentlemen  in  England,  who  have  them 
confined  in  enclosures,  high  and  finn,  for  ornament  and  curiosi- 
ty. Their  colour  is  invariably  of  a  creamy  white — the  muz- 
zle black — the  whole  of  the  inside  of  the  ear  and  about  one- 
third  of  the  outside  from  the  tips  downwards  red — horns  white, 
with  black  tips,  very  fine  and  bent  upwards.  Some  of  the 
bulls  have  a  thin  upright  mane,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  or  two 
inches.  The  weight  of  the  ox  i-anges  from  five  to  six  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds,  and  the  cows  from  three  hundred  and  fifty 
to  five  hundred  pounds  the  four  quarters.  The  beef  is  finely 
viarbled  and  of  excellent  flavour.  The  mode  of  killing  them 
was  perhaps  the  only  remains  of  the  grandeur  of  ancient  hunt- 
ing. They  are  exceedingly  shy;  the  cows  hide  their  calves 
for  a  week  or  ten  days,  in  some  sequestered  spot,  and  go  and 
suckle  them  several  times  a  day.t 

The  long-horns,  which  extend  over  the  western  districts  of 
England,  and  the  richer  parts  of  Ireland,  were,  at  an  early 
period,  more  generally  diffused  than  any  of  the  other  races  of 
large  cattle.  The  individuals  of  this  breed  are  distinguished 
from  others  "by  the  length  of  their  horns,  which  generally  in- 
cline downwards — the  thickness  and  fine  texture  of  their  hides 
— the  length  and  closeness  of  their  hair — the  large  size  of 
their  hoofs,  and  their  coarse  leathery  necks.  They  are  not  good 
milkers."!  They  are  frequently  termed  the  Lancashb'e  breed. 
The  district  of  Craven  was  long  celebrated  for  its  long-horns, 
called  the  Craven  breed.  In  the  early  part  of  the  last  century 
the  Caiiley  breed  acquired,  and  for  a  considerable  length  of 
time  maintained,  a  high  reputation,  through  the  judicious  and 
well  directed  exertions  of  Mr.  Webster,  of  Cauley.  To  this 
breed,  and  partly  derived  from  it,  succeeded  the  Dlshley  breed., 
so  named  from  Robert  Bakewell,  of  Dishley,  in  the  county 
of  Leicester,  who,  soon  after  the  middle  of  the  last  century, 
began  those  improvements  in  live-stock  which  exercised  so 
great  an  influence  on — not  merely  on  the  long-horned  breed  of 
cattle — but  upon  all  the  varieties  and  races  of  domesticated 
animals  in  almost  every  country,  down  to  the  present  day.    . 

The  chief  improvements  effected,   seem  to  be  their  early 

*  Library  of  Useful  Knowledge — British  Cattle — Yoiatt — Cline. 
t  Cai.T.Y  on  Live  Slocli. 

t  Mr.  Cci.LY.  Their  milk:,  though  not  large  in  quantity,  was  exceeding  rich 
ill  cream — hence  their  adaptation  to  the  dairy. 


334  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

maturity  and  aptitude  to  fatten  rapidly  on  the  most  valuable 
points,  and  in  the  superior  quality  or  excellence  of  the  flesh, 
it  being  fine  grained,  and  the  fat  beautifully  intermixed  with 
the  muscles.  Whatever  may  be  the  merits  of  the  long-horned 
cattle,  comparatively  with  the  other  improved  breeds  of  the 
present  day,  it  must  be  admitted,  says  the  Editor  of  the  Com- 
plete Grazier,  that  they  rank  among  the  finest  in  the  kingdom; 
and  it  is  certain,  that  the  perfection  which  they  have  attained 
in  the  hands  of  the  eminent  breeders  of  the  present  day,  has 
been  acquired  through  the  medium  of  the  Dishley  blood. 

The  modern  improvements  made  in  the  long-horned  cattle,  since  the  first  at- 
tempts of  Bakewell,  are  considered  to  consist  chieliy  in  the  coarser  parts 
hav^ing  been  reduced,  and  the  more  valuable  enlarged.  The  present  breed  is 
finer  boned,  and  finer  in  the  neck,  throat  and  breast — the  back  is  straight,  wide, 
and  well  covered  with  fiesh — the  rump  is  also  wide,  and  particularly  fleshy  on 
the  points  and  about  the  root  of  the  tail. — Complete  Grazier. 

The  SHOKT-HORNED  CATTLE,  Under  which  denomination  are 
indiscriminately  included  the  Dutch,  Holderness^  Teesivater, 
Yorkshire,  Durham,  Northumberland,  and  other  breeds  of 
these  varieties  of  the  short-horned  breed.  The  Teeswater  and 
the  Durham  varieties  of  the  short-horns,  are  at  present  held 
in  the  highest  estimation;  they  are  very  nearly  allied  to  each 
other;  and  bulls  and  cows  purchased  at  the  most  extraordinary 
prices,  are  spread  over  England,  Scotland,  and  the  United 
States.  The  enterprising  farmers  of  our  western  states — indeed 
our  farmers  generally,  prefer  the  Durham — hence  that  variety 
is  more  generally  found  among  us. 

The  bone,  head  and  neck  of  these  cattle  are  very  fine — back  level — throat 
clean — the  hide  xevy  thin — chine  full — the  loin  broad — the  carcass  throughout 
large  and  well  fashioned — quarters  long — hips  and  rumps  even  and  wide — the 
flesh  and  fattening  quality  equal,  probably  superior  to  those  of  any  other  large 
breed.  They  stand  rather  high  on  their  legs,  and  handle  very  kindly.  The 
short-horns  are  better  milkers  than  any  other  variety  or  breed — a  cov^r  gene- 
rally yielding  from  twenty-four  to  thirtv  quarts  of  milk  per  day,  of  the  richest 
qualit}-.*  They  differ  from  other  breeds,  not  only  in  the  shortness  of  their 
burns,  but  in  their  more  square  and  massy  form — consequently  feeding  to 
greater  weight,  in  afibrding  the  greatest  quantity  of  tallow  when  fatted.  The 
heavie.stand  largest  oxen  of  this  breed,  when  properly  fed,  are  selected  in  pre- 
ference to  all  others  for  victualling  the  East  India  ships,  as  they  produce  the 
thickest  beef,  which,  by  retaining  its  juices,  is  the  best  adapted  for  all  long 
voyages. 

To  Messrs.  Charles  and  Robert  Collins,  of  Darlington, 
in  the  county  of  Durham,  belongs  the  honour  of  bringing  to  its 
present  state  of  improvement,  the  valuable  breed  we  have  now 
under  consideration.  Towards  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
many  individuals  distinguished  themselves  as  breeders  of  the 
Teeswater  short-horns.  But  it  was  left  to  these  gentlemen  to 
complete  what  others  had  undertaken.  By  judicious  and 
happy  selection,  Charles  Collins  did  for  the  short-horns, 
what  Mr.  Bakewell,  years  before,  had  done  for  the  long- 

•  The  superior  quality  of  the  milk  is  disputed  by  the  advocates  of  the  mid- 
dle-horns. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  335 

horns.  His  improvements  were  made  on  a  better  basis,  and 
the  result  was  a  superior  class  of  cattle,  the  reputation  of  which 
becoming  established  about  the  year  1800,  it  began  to  super- 
sede other  breeds  in  every  part  of  the  country.*  This  breed 
received  very  generally  the  name  of  Durham,  and  from  it  is 
derived  the  valuable  stock  in  this  country  known  by  that 
name. 

The  improved  short-horned  breed  of  cattle,  was  first  brought 
into  extensive  notice,  and  its  reputation  established  about  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century,  by  the  production 
of  the  celebrated  "Durham  ox,"  an  animal  which  speaks 
volumes  in  favour  of  a  single  cross  of  this  blood,  for  the  ox 
was  the  produce  of  a  common  cow,  which  had  been  put  to 
"Favourite,"  in  1796.t  In  1801,  when  five  years  old,  he  was 
thought  to  be  so  wonderful  an  animal,  that  he  was  purchased 
for  exhibition,  for  five  hundred  and  forty  dollars — his  live 
weight  being  then  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  stone,  or  three 
thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  pounds.  The  first  sale 
was  in  February,  and  in  the  following  May  he  was  sold  for 
eleven  hundred  dollars,  and  in  two  months  afterwards  eight 
thousand  dollars  were  offered  and  refused.  He  was  exhibited 
in  nearly  all  parts  of  England  to  great  advantage,  until  April, 
1807,  when  he  was  killed,  in  consequence  of  having  dislocated 
his  hip,  eight  weeks  previously;  and  notwithstanding  he  must 
have  lost  weight  during  these  eight  weeks  of  illness,  his  car- 
cass weighed  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty  pounds, 
viz:  four  quarters,  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
two — tallow,  one  hundred  and  sixty-four — hide,  one  hundred 
and  forty-two. 

Uncommon  as  this  animal  then  was,  he  has  frequently  of 
late,  been  greatly  exceeded  in  every  respect,  by  individuals  of 
the  same  family  in  England  and  in  America.  There  are  very 
many  instances  in  the  United  States,  of  cattle  possessing  every 
point  of  excellence,  attaining  the  weight  of  from  three  to  four 
thousand  pounds.!     O^r  limits  forbid — indeed  it  is  foreign  to 

*  The  first  improvement  attempted  by  Mr.  Collins  on  the  Teeswater  breed, 
•which  were  originally,  like  all  other  extravagantly  large  cattle,  frequently  of 
loose  make  and  disproportion,  was  a  reduction  of  the  size  of  this  breed,  and  at 
the  same  time,  and  by  the  same  means,  to  improve  its  form.  This,  he  is  sup- 
posed to  have  effected  in  the  first  instance,  through  the  medium  of  a  bull  called 
''HubbacJc,''  an  animal,  respecting  which  there  has  been  much  controversy, 
principally  touching  the  purity  of  his  blood. 

t  Hubback  was  the  sire  of  the  dam  of  Mr.  Charles  Collins'  bull  Foljambe, 
who  was  the  grandsire  of  Favourite,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  has 
not  been  for  many  years  any  superior  short-horn  which  was  not  descended 
from  Favourite. — Youatt. 

t  The  famous  Yankee  ox — "Brother  Jonathan" — has,  we  believe,  been  taken 
across  the  great  water,  to  pay  his  respects  in  person  to  his  brother  John  Bull. 
If  they  cannot  compare  notes,  they  will  have  no  difficulty  in  comparing  ;)ot?i<s 
and  horns. 


336 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


our  purpose,  to  notice  all  the  animals  reared  in  this  country 
possessing  this  peculiar  trait.  We  will,  however,  advert  to 
one  or  two.  In  1812  the  ox  "Leopard,"  reared  hy  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Elmer,  of  Bridgeton,  Cumberland  county.  New  Jersey, 
weighing  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty  pounds,  was 
slaughtered  in  Philadelphia. 


^^^^^^^p^^:?^-:^^! 


Duke  op  Gloucester. 


Earl  of  Jersey, 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


337 


The  Duke  of  Gloucester  and  the  Earl  of  Jersey,  two  noble 
animals  of  the  short-horned  Durham,  crossed  with  the  native 
American  breed,  were  raised  by  that  judicious  breeder  of  good 
stock,  Mr.  Edward  Tonkin,  of  Woodbury,  Gloucester  coun- 
ty, New  Jersey.  When  a  little  over  seven  years  old  they 
were  sold  for  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  At  the 
time  of  sale  their  weight  was  as  follows:  Earl  of  Jersey, 
three  thousand  and  forty  pounds— Duke  of  Gloucester,  three 
thousand  and  forty-two  pounds.  The  portraits  of  these 
animals  here  given  are  correct  and  striking,  as  they  ap- 
peared in  December,  1837.  They  have  been  exhibited  in 
various  parts  of  the  Union,*  and  in  July,  1839,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fatigue  of  travel,  they  were  estimated  by  very  compe- 
tent judges  to  weigh  four  thousand  pounds  each. 


The  Devon  Bull. 

The  Devon  or  middle-horns,  forms  a  beautiful  and  peculiar 
variety — they  are  of  a  family  widely  extended,  as  cattle  pos- 
sessing very  similar  properties  are  found  not  only  in  England, 
but  in  America,  on  the  banks  of  the  Don,  along  the  borders  of 
the  Vistula,  the  confines  of  Poland  and  many  other  places.  The 
true  Devon,  however,  is  found  in  the  state  of  greatest  purity 
in  Devonshire,  and  the  adjacent  counties,  in  England,  and  in 
those  sections  of  the  United  States  whence  they  have  been 
imported  from  Devonshire.     More  allied  to  the  lighter  breeds 

*  The  names  given  these  noble  animals  by  Mr.  Tonkin,  were  certainly- 
most  appropriate;  but  the  purchasers  saw  fit  to  change  them.     They  are  now 
called  Henry  Cl.w  and  Daniel  Webster. 
29 


338  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

of  elevated  countries,  than  to  the  larger  breeds  of  the  plains, 
their  general  form  is  light  and  graceful.  All  writers  on  live- 
stock, speak  of  these  cattle,  when  pure,  in  the  highest  terms. 
Cully,  Dicksox,  Marshall,  Lawrence,  Berry,  Robert- 
son, all  express  but  one  opinion;  while  Parkinson  says,  they 
are  a  model  for  all  persons  who  breed  oxen  for  the  yoke. 

But  we  are  not  to  be  understood  as  either  advancing  or  en- 
dorsing an  opinion  that  they  are  superior  to  all  other  breeds 
in  every  respect.  That  they  possess  certain  points  of  superior 
and  peculiar  excellence,  we  cannot  doubt.  On  account  of  their 
activity  and  hardiness,  they  are  admirably  calculated  for  the 
draught,  and  they  feed  well  at  an  early  age  when  not  employ- 
ed in  labour;  but  compared  with  the  Durhams  they  are  very 
deficient  milkers.  We  consider  the  pure  Durham,  in  the 
aggregate,  as  fully  equal  to  the  Devonshire.  We  should  be 
glad  to  see  both  breetls  more  widely  diffused  throughout  our 
country. 


The  Working  Devon  Ox. 


Proper  Form  and  Shape  of  Cattle.  With  all  the  lightness 
of  the  Devonshire  ox,  there  is  a  point  about  him,  disliked  in 
the  blood  or  riding-horse,  and  not  always  approved  in  the 
horse  of  light  draught, — the  legs  are  far  under  the  chest,  or 
rather  the  breast  projects  far  and  wide  before  the  legs.  We 
see  the  advantage  of  this  in  the  beast  of  slow  draught,  who 
rarely  breaks  into  a  trot,  except  when  he  is  goaded  on  in 
catching  times,  and  the  division  of  whose  foot  secures  him 
from  stumbling.  The  lightness  of  the  other  parts  of  his  form, 
however,  counterbalances  the  appearance  of  heaviness  here. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  339 

The  legs  are  straight,  at  least  in  the  best  breeds.  If  they 
are  in-kneed,  or  crooked  in  the  fore-legs,  it  argues  a  deficiency 
in  blood,  and  comparative  incapacity  for  work;  and  not  only 
for  work,  but  for  grazing  too,  for  they  will  be  hollow  behind 
the  withers,  a  point  for  which  nothing  can  compensate,  because 
it  takes  away  so  much  from  the  place  where  good  flesh  and  fat 
should  be  thickly  laid  on,  and  diminisl>es  the  capacity  of  the 
chest  and  the  power  of  creating  arterial  and  nutritious  blood. 

The  fore-arm  is  particularly  large  and  powerful.  It  swells 
out  suddenly  above  the  knee,  but  is  soon  lost  in  the  substance 
of  the  shoulder.  Below  the  knee  the  bone  is  small  to  a  very 
extraordinary  degree,  indicating  a  seeming  want  of  strength; 
but  this  impression  immediately  ceases,  for  the  smallness  is 
only  in  front — it  is  only  the  bone:  the  leg  is  deep,  and  the 
sinews  are  far  removed  from  the  bone.  It  is  the  leg  of  the 
blood-horse,  promising  both  strength  and  speed.  It  may  per- 
haps be  objected  that  the  leg  is  a  little  too  long.  It  would  be 
so  in  an  animal  that  is  destined  only  to  graze;  but  this  is  a 
working  animal;  and  some  length  of  leg  is  necessary  to  get 
him  pleasantly  and  actively  over  the  ground. 

There  is  a  trifling  fall  behind  the  withers,  but  no  kolloivness, 
and  the  line  of  the  back  is  straight  from  them  to  the  setting  on 
of  the  tail.  If  there  is  any  seeming  fault  in  the  beast,  it  is  that 
the  sides  are  a  little  too  flat.  It  will  appear,  however,  that  this 
does  not  interfere  with  feeding,  while  a  deep,  although  some- 
what flat  chest  is  best  adapted  for  speed. 

Not  only  is  the  breast  broad  and  the  chest  deep,  but  the  two 
last  ribs  are  particularly  bold  and  prominent,  leaving  room  for 
the  stomachs  and  other  parts  concerned  in  digestion  to  be  fully 
developed.  The  hips  or  buckles  are  high,  and  on  a  level  with 
the  back,  whether  the  beast  is  fat  or  lean.  The  hind  quarters, 
or  the  space  from  the  buckle  to  the  point  of  the  rump,  are  par- 
ticularly long,  and  well  filled  up — a  point  likewise  of  very 
considerable  importance  both  for  grazing  and  working.  It 
leaves  room  for  flesh  in  the  most  valuable  part,  and,  like  the 
extensive  and  swelling  quarters  of  the  blood-horse,  indicate 
much  power  behind,  equally  connected  with  strength  and 
speed.  This  is  an  improvement  quite  of  modern  date.  The 
fulness  here,  and  the  swelling  out  of  the  thigh  below,  are  of 
much  more  consequence  than  the  prominence  of  fat  which  is 
so  much  admired  on  the  rump  of  many  prize  cattle. 

The  setting  on  of  the  tail  is  high;  it  is  on  a  level  with  the 
back;  rarely  much  elevated,  and  never  depressed.  This  is 
another  great  point  in  the  blood-horse,  as  connected  with  the 
perfection  of  the  hind  quarters.  The  tail  itself  is  long  and 
small,  and  tapering,  with  a  round  bunch  of  hair  at  the  bottom. 


340  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

The  skin  of  the  Devon,  notwithstanding  his  curly  hair,  is 
exceedingly  mellow  and  elastic.  Graziers  know  that  there  is 
not  a  more  important  point  than  this.  When  the  skin  can  be 
easily  raised  from  the  hips,  it  shows  that  there  is  room  to  set 
on  fat  below. 

The  skin  is  thin  rather  than  thick.  Its  appearance  of  thick- 
ness arises  from  the  curly  hair  with  which  it  is  covered,  and 
curl}'^  in  proportion  to  the  condition  and  health  of  the  animal. 
Good  judges  of  these  cattle  speak  of  these  curls  as  running  like 
little  ripples  of  wind  on  a  pond  of  water.  Some  of  these  cat- 
tle have  the  hair  smooth,  but  then  it  should  be  fine  and  glossy. 
Those  with  curled  hair  are  somewhat  more  hardy,  and  fatten 
more  kindly.  The  favourite  colour  is  a  blood  red.  This  is 
supposed  to  indicate  purity  of  breed;  but  there  are  many  good 
cattle  approaching  almost  to  a  chestnut  hue,  or  even  a  bay 
brown.  If  the  eye  is  clear  and  good,  and  the  skin  mellow,  the 
paler  colours  will  bear  hard  work  and  fatten  as  well  as  others; 
but  a  beast  with  a  pale  skin,  and  hard  under  the  hand,  and  the 
eye  dark  and  dead,  will  be  a  sluggish  worker,  and  an  unprofit- 
able feeder.  Those,  however,  that  are  of  a  yellow  colour,  are 
said  to  be  subject  to  steat  (diarrhoea). 

Some  breeders  object  to  the  slightest  intermixture  of  white 
— not  even  a  star  upon  the  forehead  is  allowed — yet  a  few  good 
oxen  have  large  distant  patches  of  white;  but  if  the  colours  run 
into  each  other,  the  beasts  are  condemned  as  of  a  mongrel  and 
valueless  breed. 

These  are  the  principal  points  of  a  good  Devonshire  ox;  but 
he  used  to  be,  perhaps  he  is  yet,  a  little  too  flat-sided,  and  the 
rump  narrowed  too  rapidly  behind  the  hip  bones;  he  was  not 
sufficiently  ribbed  home,  or  there  was  too  much  space  between 
the  hip  bones  and  the  last  rib;  and  altogether  he  was  too  light 
for  some  tenacious  and  strong  soils.  The  cut  of  the  working 
ox,  on  page  338,  contains  the  portrait  of  one  embodying 
almost  every  good  point  of  which  we  have  spoken. 

Mr.  Western  has  kindly  enabled  us  here  to  add  another 
portrait  from  his  farm.  It  is  a  son  of  the  bull  given  on  page 
337,  and  is  a  faithful  representation  of  an  ox  beginning  to  fat- 
ten, but  his  characteristic  points  not  yet  concealed.  ]Mr. 
Western  has  carefully  preserved  this  breed  unmixed  for  the 
last  thirty  years,  and  all  the  cattle  that  he  fattens  are  Devons: 
he  rarely  uses  them  for  the  plough. 

A  selection  from  the  most  perfect  animals  of  the  true  breed 
— the  bone  still  small  and  the  neck  fine,  but  the  brisket  deep 
and  wide,  and  down  to  the  knees,  and  not  an  atom  of  flatness 
all  over  the  side — or  one  cross,  and  only  one  with  the  Here- 
ford,   and   that    stealthily   made — these   have    improved  the 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  34  j 

Strength  and  bulk  of  the  North  Devon  ox,  without  impairing, 
in  the  slightest  degree,  his  activity,  his  beauty,  or  his  propen- 
sity to  fatten.* 


■"-.^y^. 


Devonshire  Ox. 


•!V^iH^^^s- 


There  are  few  things  more  remarkable  about  the  Devon- 
shire cattle  than  the  comparative  smallness  of  the  cow.  The 
bull  is  a  great  deal  less  than  the  ox,  and  the  cow  almost  as 
much  smaller  than  the  bull.  This,  however,  is  some  disad- 
vantage, and  the  breeders  are  aware  of  it;  for  although  it  may 
not  be  necessary  to  have  a  large  bull,  and  especially  as  those 
of  any  extraordinary  size  are  seldom  handsome  in  all  their 
points,  somewhere  or  other  present  coarseness  or  deformity,  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  procure  large  and  serviceable  oxen,  ex- 
cept from  a  somewhat  roomy  cow.  Those  cows,  however, 
although  small,  possess  that  roundness  and  projection  of  the 
two  or  three  last  ribs,  which  make  them  actually  more  roomy 
than  a  careless  examination  of  them  would  indicate.     The  cow 


*  In  the  'Annals  of  Agriculture,'  vol.  xxx.  p.  314,  we  have  the  opinion,  in 
somewhat  provincial  terms,  of  a  good  west-country  grazier,  respecting  the 
best  form  of  the  Devon  cattle.  'He  buys  at  all  times,  from  Christmas  to  May- 
day, North  Devons,  that  are  bred  from  Portlock  to  Biddeford,  such  as  are  five 
or  six  years  old.  He  chooses  such  as  are  small-horned,  and  of  a  yellow- 
<:oloured  horn  rather  than  white— small  bones,  as  such  beasts  thrive  best — rib 
bones  round,  not  flat — a  thick  hide  bad — a  very  thin  one  objectionable — blade 
bones,  chuck — very  thick  and  heavy  in  the  bosom,  as  much  weight  lies  there 
— the  heavier  in  the  shoulder  the  better,  but  not  to  elbow  out — very  wide  and 
square  from  the  points  down  to  the  thighs — middling  in  the  belly — not  cow- 
bellied— not  tucked  up.'  As  a  grazier  he  is  right;  but  this  is  not  the  true 
working  Devonshire  ox. 
29* 


342 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


is  particularly  distinguished  for  her  full,  round,  clear  eye,  the 
gold  coloured  circle  round  the  eye,  and  the  same  colour  pre- 
vailing on  the  inside  skin  of  the  ear.  The  countenance  cheer- 
ful, the  muzzle  orange  or  yellow,  hut  the  rest  of  the  face 
having  nothing  of  black  or  even  of  white  about  it.  The  jaws 
free  from  thickness  and  the  throat  free  from  dewlap.  The 
points  of  the  back  hind  quarters  different  from  those  of  other 
breeds,  having  more  of  roundness  and  beauty,  and  being  free 
from  most  of  those  angles  by  which  good  milkers  are  some- 
times distinguished. 


Devonshire  Cow. 

We  are  here  enabled  to  present  our  readers  with  the  por- 
trait of  a  cow,  belonging  to  that  indefatigable  agriculturist, 
ISIr.  Western.  She  was  rising  four  years  old.  With  regard 
to  size  she  is  a  favourable  specimen  of  the  Devon  cow.  It 
will  be  seen  at  once  how  much  more  roomy  and  fit  for  breed- 
ing she  is,  than  even  her  somewhat  superior  bulk  would  at 
first  indicate.  She  is,  perhaps,  in  a  little  better  condition  than 
cows  generally  are,  or  should  be  in  order  to  yield  their  full 
quantity  of  milk. 

The  following  account  of  this  breed  is  from  the  pen  of  the 
Editor  of  a  work  called  the  British  Cattle — it  is  more  full  than 
any  we  have  yet  seen — but  the  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that 
it  is  the  production  of  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  middJe-horns 
or  Devons.  We  believe,  however,  that  he  has  endeavoured  to 
meet  the  subject  fairly  and  treat  it  devoid  of  prejudice. 

The  more  perfect  specimens  of  the  North  Devon  breed  are  thus  distinguish- 
ed.    The  horn  of  the  ball  ought  to  be  neither  too  low  nor  too  high,  tapering  at 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  343 

the  points,  nor  too  thick  at  the  root,  and  of  a  yellowish  or  waxy  colour.  The 
eye  should  be  clear,  bright  and  prominent,  showing  much  of  the  white,  and 
it  ought  to  have  around  it  a  circle  of  a  variable  colour,  but  usually  a  dark 
orange.  The  forehead  should  be  flat,  indented,  and  small;  for  by  the  small- 
ness  of  the  forehead,  the  purity  of  the  breed  is  very  much  estimated.  The 
cheek  should  be  small,  and  the  muzzle  fine:  the  nose  should  be  of  a  clear  yel- 
low. A  black  muzzle  is  disliked,  and  even  a  mottled  one  is  objected  to  by 
some  who  pretend  to  be  judges  of  the  true  Devon.  The  nostril  should  be  high 
and  open:  the  hair  curled  about  the  head,  and  giving,  at  first  appearance,  an 
idea  of  coarseness  which  soon  wears  off.  The  neck  should  be  thick,  and  that 
sometimes  almost  to  a  fault. 

Excepting  in  the  head  and  neck  the  form  of  the  bull  does  not  materially 
differ  from  that  of  the  ox,  but  he  is  considerably  smaller.  There  are  some  ex- 
ceptions, however,  to  this  rule,  and  as  an  illustration  of  this,  we  have  inserted 
the  portrait  of  a  pure  Devon  bull  (belonging  to  Mr.  Western,)  father  of  the 
ox  and  the  com',  portraits  of  which  are  given  on  pages  341  and  342.  We  may 
fancy  that  we  trace  in  this  singular  and  noble  animal,  the  lineaments  of  the 
native,  and  scarcely  reclaimed  British  bull. 

The  head  of  the  ox  is  small,  very  singularly  so,  relatively  to  the  bulk  of  the 
animal,  yet  it  has  a  striking  breadth  of  forehead.  It  is  clean  and  free  from 
flesh  about  the  jaws.  The  eye  is  very  prominent,  and  the  animal  has  a  pleas- 
ing vivacity  of  countenance  plainly  distinguishing  it  from  the  heavy  aspect  of 
many  other  breeds.  Its  neck  is  long  and  thin,  admirably  adapting  it  for  the 
collar,  and  even  for  the  more  common  and  ruder  yoke. 

The  want  of  the  beautifully  arched  form  of  the  "neck,  which  is  seen  in  the 
horse,  has  been  considered  as  a  delect  in  most  breeds  of  cattle.  It  is  account- 
ed one  of  the  characters  of  good  cattle,  that  the  line  of  the  neck  from  the  horns 
to  the  withers  should  scarcely  deviate  from  that  of  the  back.  In  the  Devon-, 
shire  ox,  however,  there  is  a  peculiar  rising  of  the  forehand,  reminding  us  not 
a  little  of  the  blood-horse,  and  essentially  connected  with  the  free  and  quick 
action  by  which  this  breed  has  ever  been  distinguished.  It  has  little  or  no 
dewlap  depending  from  its  throat.  The  horns  are  longer  than  those  of  the 
bull,  smaller  and'fine  even  to  the  base,  and  of  a  lighter  colour,  and  sometimes 
tipped  with  yellow.  The  animal  is  light  in  the  withers;  the  shoulders  a  little 
oblique;  the  breast  deep,  and  the  bosom  open  and  wide,  particularly  as  con- 
trasted with  the  fineness  of  the  withers.  The  fore-legs  are  wide  apart,  look- 
ing like  pillars  that  have  to  support  a  great  weight.  The  point  of  the  shoulder 
is  rarely  or  never  seen.  There  is  no  projection  of  bone  as  in  the  horse,  but 
there  is  a  kind  of  level  line  running  on  to  the  neck. 

These  are  characteristic  and  important  points.  Angular  bony  projections 
are  never  found  in  a  beast  that  carries  much  flesh  and  fat.  The  fineness  of 
the  withers,  the  slanting  direction  of  the  shoulder,  and  the  broad  and  open 
breast,  imply  both  strength  and  speed,  and  aptitude  to  fatten.  A  narrow- 
chested  animal  can  never  be  useful  either  for  working  or  grazing. 

The  improved  short-horns  are  thus  described  by  James  Dickson,  Esq.,  an  emi- 
nent cattle  dealer  and  breeder  in  Great  Britain.  When  we  survey  the  frame 
of  a  short-horn  ox,  we  have  a  straight  level  back  from  behind  the  horns  to  the 
top  of  the  tail,  full  buttocks,  and  a  projecting  brisket;  we  have,  in  short,  the 
rectangular  form,  as  represented  in  a  side  view  by  Fig.  1;  we  have,  also,  the 
level  loin  across  the  hook  bones,  and  the  level  top  of  the  shoulder  across  the 
ox,  and  perpendicular  lines  down  the  hind  and  fore  legs  on  both  sides,  these 
constituting  the  square  form,  when  the  ox  is  viewed  before  and  behind,  as  re- 
presented in  Figs.  2  and  3;  and  we  have  straight  parallel  lines  from  the  sides 
of  the  shoulders  along  the  utmost  points  of  the  ribs  to  the  sides  of  the  hind 
quarters;  and  we  have  these  lines  connected  at  their  ends  by  others  of  shorter 
and  equal  length,  across  the  end  of  the  rump  and  the  top  of  the  shoulder,  thus 
constituting  the  rectangular  form  of  the  ox  when  viewed  from  above  down 
upon  the  back,  as  represented  by  Fig.  4.  We  have  in  this  manner,  the  form 
of  the  short-horn  ox  and  heifer  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  diagrams  of  the 
rule. 

Further,  I  should  be  inclined  to  assert,  although  I  have  not  directed  my  at- 
tention to  the  fact  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  prove  the  assertion  from  examples, 


344 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


that  the  cross  of  a  full  fed  symmetrical  short-horn  ox,  included  within  the 
rectangle,  is  in  length  double  its  depth,  and  its  depth  equal  to  its  breadth. 
Hence,  Figs.  2  and  3  are  squares,  and  Figs.  1  and  4  each  two  similar  squares, 
placed  in  juxtaposition.  The  short-horn  bull  deviates  from  the  rule  in  a 
rising  of  the  neck,  a  dependence  under  the  brisket,  and  a  fulness  of  the  neck 
vein;  the  cow  only  a  little  from  the  ox  or  heifer,  in  a  thinness  in  the  buttocks; 
and  besides  this,  when  aged,  in  an  enlargement  of  the  belly,  and  mostly, 
though  not  always,  in  a  hollowness  in  the  loins.  The  form,  therefore,  of  the 
short-horn  breed  is  perfect  according  to  the  rule. 

Fig.  4. 


In  its  ;7<7^?^^5  that  for  quantity  and  well  laid  on  beef,  the  short-horn  ox  is 
quite  full  in  every  valuable  part,  such  as  along  the  back,  including  the  fore 
ribs,  the  sirloins  and  rumps,  in  the  runners,  flanks,  buttocks,  and  twist,  and 
in  the  neck  and  brisket  as  inferior  parts.  In  regard  to  quality  of  beef,  the  fat 
bears  a  due  and  even  preponderating  portion  to  the  lean,  the'  fibres  of  which 
are  fine  and  well  mixed,  and  even  marbled  with  fat,  and  abundantly  juicy. 
The  fine,  thin,  clean  bone  of  the  legs  and  head,  with  the  soft  mellow  touch  of 
the  skin,  and  the  benign  aspect  of  the  eye,  indicate  in  a  remarkable  degree, 
the  disposition  to  fatten;  while  the  uniform  colours  of  the  skin,  red  or  white, 
or  both,  commixed  in  various  degrees — bare,  cream-coloured  skin  on  the  nose 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS.  345 

and  around  the  eyes,  and  fine  tapering  white  or  light-coloured  horns,  mark 
distinctly  the  purity  of  the  blood.  The  points  of  blood  and  quality,  and  quan- 
tity of  beef,  apply  equally  to  the  bull,  the  cow,  and  the  heifer,  as  to  the  ox. 
Combining  all  these  properties  of  points  and  form,  we  shall  find  that  the  short- 
horn breed  illustrates,  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner,  the  application  of  the 
general  rule  which  has  been  explained.  On  account  of  its  valuable  proper- 
ties, this  breed  demands  further  illustration. 

The  external  appearance  of  the  short-horn  breed  is  irresistibly  attractive. 
The  exquisitely  symmetrical  foim  of  the  body  in  every  position,  bedecked 
with  a  skin  of  the  richest  hues  of  red  and  the  richest  white,  approaching  to 
cream,  on  both  colours,  so  arranged  or  commixed  as  to  form  a  beautiful  ileck 
on  delicate  roan,  and  possessed  of  the  mellowest  touch — supported  on  small 
clean  limbs,  showing,  like  those  of  the  race-horse  and  the  grey-hound,  the 
union  of  strength  with  fineness;  and  ornamented  with  a  small  lengthy  taper- 
ing head,  neatly  set  on  a  broad  firm  deep  neck,  and  furnished  with  a  small 
muzzle,  wide  nostrils,  prominent  "mildly  beaming"  eyes,  thin  large  veiny 
ears,  set  near  the  crown  of  the  head,  and  protected  in  front  with  semi-circnlar- 
ly  bent  white  or  brownish  coloured  short,  (hence  the  name,)  smooth,  pointed 
horns; — all  these  several  parts  combine  to  forma  symmetrical  harmony,  which 
has  nev^er  been  surpassed  in  beauty  and  sweetness  by  any  other  species  of  the 
domesticated  ox. 

Enthusiastic  as  this  language  may  be  considered  when  applied  to  the  exter- 
nal beauty  of  cattle,  it  is  iiot  more  so  than  the  beauty  of  cattle  is  entitled  to; 
for  when  "it  is  considered  that  symmetry  of  form  generally  accompanies  mel- 
lowness of  touch  in  the  skin,  and  that  both  constitute  the  true  index  to  a  dispo- 
sition to  fatten,  the  most  us.cful  propcrh/  of  all,  beauty  of  external  appearance 
is  too  valuable  a  criterion  to  be  overlooked.  Fortunately,  indeed,  beauty  can- 
not be  overlooked  in  cattle:  for  even  were  it  useless,  it  is  so  irresistibly  en- 
gaging, that  the  judgment  of  a  stoic  would  be  biassed  in  its  favour.  To  my 
taste,  nothing  can  be  so  attractive  a  spectacle  of  the  kind  as  a  show  of  fine 
bred  short-horns  in  high  condition." 

The  Herefords  are  of  the  larger  class  of  oxen — of  a  red 
colour,  white  faces,  and  more  or  less  of  white  on  other  parts 
— fine  hair — thin  hides — horns  neither  long  nor  short,  and  in- 
clining upwards  at  the  points.  Mr.  Marshall  says,  that  in 
general  they  are  well  made  in  the  hind  quarters — wide  across 
the  hips,  rumps  and  sirloin,  hut  narrow  in  the  chine — tolerably 
straight  along  the  back — ribs  too  flat — thin  in  the  thigh,  and 
bone  not  too  large.  An  ox,  six  years  old,  if  fat,  will  weigh 
from  eight  to  fourteen  hundred  pounds.  This  and  the  Glou- 
cester variety,  are  highly  eligible  as  dairy  stock,  and  the  fe- 
males of  the  Herefords  have  been  found  to  fatten  better  at 
three  years  old,  than  any  other  kind  of  cattle,  except  spayed 
heifers. 

Whatever  may  be  the  early  history  of  the  Hereford  breed, 
it  has  long  since  acquired  characters  peculiar  to  itself,  and 
ranks  as  a  distinct  breed.  But  it  owes  its  celebrity  to  recent 
changes.  Its  great  improver,  or  rather,  it  may  be  said  the 
founder  of  the  modern  breed,  was  the  late  INIr.  Tomkins,  near 
Hereford.  From  a  very  humble  stock  of  cows,  by  changes  or 
crosses,  which  he  never  chose  to  reveal,  he  succeeded  in  form- 
ing the  beautiful  breed  from  which  the  modern  Hereford  takes 
all  its  characters.     Although  of  a  less  agile  form  than   the 


346  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

Devons,  their  steady  strength  and  a  sufficient  degree  of  activity, 
suits  them  well  for  the  draught. 

In  almost  every  country  there  are  families  of  oxen  destitute 
of  horns.  Few,  however,  are  remarkable  for  points  of  pecu- 
liar excellence;  very  little  pains  having  been  taken  to  improve 
them.  They  are  generally  a  hardy  race,  and  some  varieties 
are  said  to  be  excellent  milkers.  The  most  esteemed  of  the 
polled  or  hornless  breed  in  England,  is  the  Suffolk  diuis,* 
but  the  most  generally  approved  of  this  race,  is  the  Galloway 
breed  of  Scotland,  to  which  the  Suffolk  duns  bear  some  re- 
semblance. 

A  trve  Galloii-ay  bnUoclc  is  straight  and  broad  in  the  back,  and  nearly  level 
from  the  head  to  the  rump — closely  compacted  between  the  shoulder  and  ribs, 
and  also  betwixt  the  ribs  and  the  loins — broad  at  the  loins,  but  not  with  hooked 
or  ]irojecting  knobs.  He  is  long  in  the  quarters,  but  not  broad  in  the  twist — 
deep  in  the  chest — short  in  the  leg,  and  moderately  fine  in  the  bone — clean  in 
the  chop  and  in  the  neck.  His  head  is  of  a  moderate  size,  with  large  rough 
ears,  full  but  not  prominent  eyes,  so  that  he  has  a  calm  but  determined  look — 
he  is  clothed  in  a  loose  and  mellow,  though  rather  thick  skin,  covered  with 
long,  soft  and  gloss}'  hair. — GaHuvay  Report. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  minor  varieties  of  cattle  to  which 
the  term  breeds  may  be  applied,  but  they  are  generally  infe- 
rior in  points  of  excellence  to  those  already  noticed,  from  which 
our  stock  have  been  deriv^ed — and  which  almost,  if  not  entirely, 
engrosses  the  attention  of  Annerican  farmers. 

Improvevient  of  breeds- — The  breed  must  be  adapted  to  the  means,  natural  or 
acquired,  possessed  of  supplying  food.  Art  and  an  improved  system  of  tillage 
do  much  in  supplying  the  food  of  herbivorous  animals.  By  cultivation  we  can 
change  the  nature,  and  increase  the  abundance,  of  the  food  supplied.  But  in 
many  cases,  tillage  is  only  practicable  or  expedient  to  a  limited  degree,  and 
then  the  natural  pastures  of  the  country  must  furnish  the  main  supplies  of  food. 
In  a  mountainous  country,  where  the  principal  food  is  natural  herbage,  and 
where  the  means  do  not  exist  of  obtaining  artificial  food,  it  would  be  vain  to 
attempt  the  rearing  of  a  large  and  fine  breed  of  oxen.  We  must,  in  such  a 
case,  t)e  satisfied  to  rear  a  race  of  hardy  properties,  of  small  .size,  and  capable 
of  subsisting  on  coarse  herbage.  Where,  again,  art  or  the  natural  fertility  of 
a  country  admits  of  supplying  sufficient  food,  the  studv  of  the  breeder  should 
be  to  select  a  race  of  animals,  the  best  that  circumstances  will  allow  him  to 
rear. 

Having  fixed  on  the  kind  of  breed  which  is  the  best  suited  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  district  or  farm,  the  practical  question  to  be  determined,  is  the 
manner  in  which  a  proper  breed  should  be  obtained,  or  the  old  one  improved. 
There  are  three  methods  which  may  be  adopted  for  this  purpose: — 

1.  The  entire  change  of  the  existing  stock,  and  the  substitution  of  adiflferent 
breed,  females  as  well  as  males. 

2.  The  retaining  of  the  old  breed,  male  and  female,  and  improving  them  by 
breeding  from  the  best  animals  of  the  same  breed. 

3.  The  improving  of  the  breed  by  crossing  with  males  of  a  different  breed. 


*  They  possess  little  of  the  beauty  of  the  original  stock,  and  are  chiefly  re- 
markable for  the  abundance  of  milk  given  by  the  cows,  on  which  account  they 
are  great  favourites  with  the  London  dairymen — the  best  milkers  giving 
thirt)'-two  quarts  per  day  after  calving,  and  lwent3--four  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  season. — Arthur  Yoimg^s  Survey  of  Suffolh. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  347 

When  the  nature  of  a  farm  allows,  the  most  speedy  and  the  best  method 
certainly  of  attaining  the  end  is  to  change  the  stock,  and  to  substitute  females 
of  the  improved  one  from  which  it  is  proposed  to  breed.  In  this  manner  the 
purpose  will  be  effected  at  once,  without  the  labour  or  loss  of  time  of  improving 
a  defective  stock. 

The  second  method  is  the  retaining  of  the  existing  stock,  and  irfiproving  it 
by  a  selection  of  the  best  individuals  of  the  same  breed.  This  is  the  method 
which  ought  to  be  adopted  if  the  breed  already  existing  is  sufliciently  suited  to 
the  natural  circumstances  of  the  farm,  and  to  the  method  of  cultivation  which 
can  be  pursued  upon  it. 

The  third  method  is  that  of  crossing,  that  is,  the  retaining  of  the  females, 
and  the  employing  of  males  of  a  different  breed.  This  method  has  often  led 
to  disappointment,  from  the  nature  of  the  crosses  attempted,  especially  where 
the  crosses  have  been  violent,  as  between  animals  of  very  different  characters. 
The  first  cross  in  general  will  be  good,  but  in  breeding  from  the  progeny  of 
this  cross,  expectation  will  often  be  disappointed.  Not  only  do  the  good  quali- 
ties of  the  first  cross  not  always  remain  in  the  progeny,  but  often  there  are 
found  in  it  defects  which  cannot  be  traced  to  the  parents. 

This,  however,  generally  arises  from  injudicious  crossing,  and  from  nnac- 
quaintance  with  the  principle  on  which  the  crosses  of  different  animals  should 
be  conducted.  When  a  cross  is  made,  it  should  be  v/ith  a  male  of  a  superior 
breed;  and  in  this  case  the  first  cross  will  be  almost  always  a  good  animal.  To 
secure  the  full  benefits  of  the  cross,  however,  we  should  not  too  hastily  resort 
to  the  males  of  the  inferior  stock,  because  it  might  be  found,  that,  while  we 
had  injured  the  original  breed,  we  had  not  substituted  a  better  in  its  stead.  The 
general  rule,  therefore,  should  be,  to  cover  again  the  first  cross  with  a  supe- 
rior male  of  the  same  breed,  and  so  on,  until  the  good  character  of  that  breed 
became  permanent  in  the  progeny.  This  is  said  to  be  breeding  up  to  the  supe- 
rior stock. 

In  crossing,  the  essential  characters  of  form  are  imprinted  on  the  offspring  by 
the  male;  and  it  is  surprising  in  how  great  a  degree  this  imprinting  of  better 
characters  takes  place,  when  a  male  of  superior  breeding  is  employed.  A  first 
cross  between  a  short-horned  bull,  for  example,  fully  bred,  and  a  very  ordinary 
cow,  produces,  not  only  often,  but  generally,  a  fine  animal,  with  an  extraordi- 
nary aptitude  to  fatten.  Many  of  the  very  fat  animals  that  receive  premiums 
at  the  cattle-shows,  are  extreme  crosses  of  this  kind.  But  the  benefit  may  end 
with  the  progeny,  if  we  do  not  again  cover  with  a  male  of  the  same  superior 
breed,  and  so  on  until  the  good  characters  become  permanent. 

When  a  breeder,  then,  is  to  improve  his  stock  by  crossing,  he  ought  to  select  a 
male  of  undoubtedly  superior  blood.  And  he  should  not  generally,  after  the 
first  cross,  resort  to  the  males  of  the  inferior  breed,  but  to  those  of  the  superior 
one,  until  he  has  formed,  as  it  were,  a  breed  for  himself.  There  are,  indeed, 
numerous  cases  in  which  a  single  mixture  of  better  blood  will  do  good,  as  with 
those  inferior  breeds  which  have  no  fixed  characters.  These  will  be  improved 
by  even  the  slightest  intermixture  with  the  blood  of  a  better  race;  and  a  farmer 
who  is  in  a  district  where  this  class  of  animals  prevails,  may  safely  avail  him- 
self of  a  good  male,  in  the  same  manner  as  a  breeder  of  horses  would  do,  al- 
though the  stallion  were  of  a  difterent  character  from  the  native  stock.  The 
cases  where  crossing  of  any  kind  is  to  be  attempted  with  caution,  are,  when  a 
breed  of  established  good  characters,  or  of  characters  which  fit  it  for  the  nature 
of  the  country  and  the  state  of  its  agriculture,  already  exists. 

In  crossing,  then,  the  rule  is,  to  breed  from  a  male  of  superior  stock;  and,  for- 
tunately, in  this  country  we  have  now  a  breed  of  such  established  character, 
that  no  mistake  can  arise  in  the  sekction  of  males.  These  have  been  formed 
to  our  hand,  with  all  the  care  that  art  can  bestow  in  improving  the  form  of 
feeding  animals.  There  is  no  need,  therefore,  for  those  mistaken  attempts  at 
crosses  which  were  sometimes  made  with  males  of  questionable  characters. 
We  can  predicate  nothing  securely  of  the  progeny  of  such  crosses  as  these,  the 
effect  of  which  will  probably  be  to  destroy  the  good  properties  of  either  breed, 
as  the  aptitude  to  yield  milk  of  the  Ayrshire,  and  the  hardy  and  feeding  quali- 
ties of  the  Galloway.  But  in  crossing  with  a  breed  so  highly  cultivated  as  the 
short-horned,  the  breeder  has  the  assurance  that  he  will  produce  animals  of 


348  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

large  size  and  good  feeding  properties.  He  is  to  consider,  indeed,  whether  he 
has  the  means  at  his  command  of  rearing  the  larger  animals;  and  if  this  be  so. 
it  will  be  better  that  he  at  once  form  his  stock  upon  the  best  model,  than  run 
the  hazard  of  wasting  time  and  capital  on  questionable  crosses. 

And  it  must  be  regarded  as  highly  important  as  a  mean  of  improving  the 
live  stock  of  Great  Britain,  that  a  breed  has  been  formed,  by  long-continued 
selection  and  care,  which  may  always  be  resorted  to,  to  etfect  the  purposes  re- 
quired, in  the  same  manner  as  recourse  is  had  to  horses  of  known  pedigree,  to 
communicate  their  characters  to  the  progeny.  In  this  manner  the  labours  of 
those  who  have  improved  the  short-horned  breed,  have  extended  far  be3'ond 
what  the  original  breeders  contemplated.  They  have  not  only  improved  a  pe- 
culiar breed,  but  have  furnished  the  most  ethcient  means  that  can  be  used  of 
improving  the  live-stock  of  the  entire  country;  and  it  is  to  be  trusted  that  the 
breeders  of  this  class  of  animals  will  have  encouragement  to  maintain  the  cha- 
racters of  the  breed  with  as  much  care  as  is  used  in  the  case  of  the  race-horse, 
seeing  that  it  is  for  a  far  more  important  end. 

But  having  selected  the  breed,  or  having  fixed  on  the  means  to  be  employed 
for  forming  it,  a  point  to  be  determined  is  the  manner  of  maintaining  or  im- 
proving it,  by  the  selection  of  good  individuals,  male  and  female;  for  if  is  to  be 
observed,  that  it  is  equally  determined,  in  the  case  of  the  ox  as  of  the  horse, 
that  the  properties  of  the  parents  are  conveyed  to  the  offspring.  The  male  un- 
doubtedly acts  the  principal  part  in  impressing  his  characters  on  the  yovmg. 
But  ihe  form  of  the  female  is  of  the  utmost  importance;  and  if  we  hope  to  arrive 
at  success  in  breeding,  the  form  and  characters  of  the  female  must  be  no  more 
neglected  than  those  of  the  male. 

Now  we  might  breed  either  from  animals  nearly  allied  to  one  another  in 
blood,  as  brothers  and  sisters,  parents  and  their  offspring,  technically  termed 
breeding  in-and-in,  or  from  animalsof  different  families.  By  the  latter  method 
are  produced  animals  more  hardy  and  less  subject  to  disease;  by  the  former, 
we  are  frequently  enabled  to  produce  animalsof  more  delicate  form,  and  greater 
fattening  properties,  and  above  all  to  give  a  greater  permanence  to  the  charac- 
ters of  the  parents  in  the  offspring.  It  is  known,  that  Bakevvell  and  other 
breeders  were  enabled,  by  this  system,  to  give  and  perpetuate  the  peculiar  cha- 
racters of  their  slock.  These  first  improvers,  indeed,  found  the  practice  to  be, 
to  a  certain  extent,  necessary,  because  they  could  not  resort  to  the  males  of 
other  families,  without  employing  inferior  animals,  and  so  impairing  the  pro- 
perties of  their  own  breed. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  breeding  and  continuing  to  breed  from  animals 
very  near  of  blood,  produces  animals  which  have  a  greater  tendency  to  arrive 
at  maturity,  and  to  become  fat.  This  seems  to  result  from  a  tendency  to  pre- 
mature age  in  the  animal,  which  thus  more  quickly  arrives  at  its  maturity,  of 
bone  and  muscle,  and  so  begins  the  sooner  to  secrete  fat. 

The  system,  however,  of  breeding  from  animals  near  of  blood,  has  its  limits. 
Nature  will  not  be  forced  too  far  for  our  purposes.  It  is  known  that,  although 
this  joining  of  animals  closely  allied  diminishes  the  size  of  the  bones,  and  gives 
a  tendency  to  fatten  to  the  progeny,  it  renders  them  also  more  delicate  and  sub- 
ject to  diseases.  Although,  then,  this  near  breeding  may  be  carried  to  a  limited 
extent  between  very  fine  animals,  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  their  qualities 
permanent  in  the  offspring,  we  do  a  violence  to  nature  when  we  carry  it  too 
far.  The  progeny,  along  with  their  early  maturity  and  aptitude  to  fatten,  be- 
come feeble;  the  cows  cease  to  secrete  milk  in  suflScient  quantity  to  nourish 
their  young;  and  the  males  lose  their  masculine  characters,  and  become  inca- 
pable of  propagating  their  race. 

When,  therefore,  the  stock  of  any  farrtier  has  become  too  nearly  allied,  he 
ought  not  to  fail  to  change  his  males,  and  procure  the  best  of  the  same  breed. 
This  is  essential  to  preserve  the  health  of  the  stock  for  any  time.  Great  Josses 
have  been  sustained  by  breeders  who  have  carried  the  system  of  close  breeding 
too  far,  with  the  design  of  pushing  the  improvement  of  their  breed  to  its  limits. 

A  character  of  a  breed  not  to  be  neglected,  is  size  of  the  individuals.  Al- 
though large  animals  consume  more  food  than  small  animals  of  the  same 
species,  yet  they  do  not  consume  food  in  proportion  to  their  greater  size;  and 
hence  the  benefit  of  rearing  the  larger  animals,  if  the  natural  or  acquired  pro- 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  349 

ductiveness  of  the  farm  will  allow  it.  But  although  size  be  an  important  ele- 
ment in  the  character  of  a  breed,  there  is  another  property  to  which  that  of  size 
is  subordinate,  namely,  that  of  a  disposition  to  quick  fattening  and  early  matu- 
rity.    This  property  depends  not  on  size,  but  on  a  different  class  of  characters. 

Form. — The  principal  purpose  in  rearing  oxen,  is  to  produce  flesh.  The 
rearing  of  females  for  milk  is,  doubtless,  also  important;  but,  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  cases,  this  purpose  is  regarded  as  subsidiary  and  subordinate  to  that  of 
feeding. 

There  are  certain  external  characters  which  indicate  a  disposition  in  the 
animal  to  feed,  and  certain  characters  that  show  that  the  animal  has  less  of 
this  property,  and  does  not  quickly  arrive  at  maturity.  These  characters  are 
familiar  to  breeders,  and  a  knowledge  of  them  is  readily  acquired  by  practice 
and  observation.  But  before  attending  to  these  characters,  it  will  be  well  to 
consider  in  what  really  consists  the  property  of  quick  and  easy  feeding. 

The  fiesh  of  an  animal,  it  has  been  said,  consists  of  muscles.  A  muscle  is  a 
combination  of  threads  or  fibres,  bound  together  by  a  sort  of  minute  mesh-work, 
to  which  the  term  cellular  tissue  has  been  applied.  Each  thread  or  fibre  is 
divided,  so  far  as  the  eye  assisted  by  powerful  glasses  can  discover,  into  smaller 
fibres  still.  A  number  of  these  smaller  fibres  or  filaments  form  a  fibre;  a  num- 
ber of  these  fibres  forms  a  fasciculus,  or  bundle  of  fibres;  and  a  number  of  these 
fasciculi  forms  a  muscle.  Now,  surrounding  the  fibres,  the  fasciculi,  and  the 
muscles,  is  the  unctuous  substance,  fat.  The  same  matter  is  formed  between 
the  muscular  substance  and  the  skin,  and  surrounds,  or  is  intermingled  with, 
ihe  various  viscera  within  the  body.  It  surrounds,  in  large  quantity,  the  heart, 
the  kidneys,  and  other  organs. 

The  muscular  fibre  grows  with  the  animal,  and  is  essential  to  its  existence 
and  power  of  motion.  When  the  animal  arrives  at  its  full  growth,  little  further 
addition  can  be  made  to  the  muscle;  but  it  is  otherwise  with  the  growth  of 
fatty  matter.  When  the  food  which  the  animal  assimilates  by  the  action 
of  its  organs,  is  no  longer  needed  to  be  converted  into  muscle,  it  is  converted 
into  fat,  and  this  being  intermingled  with  and  surrounding  the  fibres,  the  fas- 
ciculi, and  the  muscles,  the  muscles  become  enlarged.  By  feeding  an  animal, 
then,  we  have  little  power  over  any  increase  of  the  muscular  substance,  but  we 
have  a  great  one  over  the  fatty  substance,  which,  along  with  the  muscle,  forms 
food. 

Now,  an  animal  that  arrives  soon  at  maturity  with  regard  to  the  growth  of 
his  fleshy  fibre,  and  tends  readily  to  secrete  fat,  is  the  kind  of  animal  best  suited 
to  the  purposes  of  the  breeder  and  feeder.  Such  an  animal  is  said  to  be  a  quick 
grower,  and  kindly  feeder. 

These  properties  seem  mainly  to  depend  on  the  power  of  digestion  possessed 
by  the  animal.  And  the  external  characters  which  indicate  this  are  a  capacity 
of  chest  for  containing  the  respiratory  organs,  and  of  trunk  for  containing  the 
stomach  and  other  viscera  employed  in  the  process  of  digestion.  This  we  may 
infer  from  the  effect;  for,  in  all  cases,  it  is  found  that  the  property  of  quick 
feeding  is  combined  with  a  capacious  chest  and  a  round  body.  An  animal  of 
this  form  requires  a  less  quantity  of  food  to  produce  a  given  increase  of  weight, 
than  one  whose  chest  is  narrow  and  whose  sides  are  flat.  When  we  look  for 
a  feeding  animal,  therefore,  we  require  that  his  chest  shall  be  broad,  and  his 
ribs  well  arched;  and  where  this  form  exists,  the  back  will  likewise  be  wide 
and  flat.  We  require,  too,  that  the  body  shall  be  large  in  proportion  to  the 
limbs,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  limbs  shall  be  short  in  proportion  to  the 
body. 

Further,  it  is  seen,  that,  in  animals  indicating  a  disposition  to  fatten,  there  is 
a  general  rotundity  of  form, — as  where  the  neck  joins  the  head,  the  shoulders 
the  neck,  and  so  on, — and  that  there  is  a  general  fineness  or  smallness  of  the 
bones,  as  of  the  limbs  and  head.  The  limbs  being  short,  the  neck  is  not  required 
to  be  long,  and  shortness  of  the  neck,  therefore,  is  a  character  connected  with 
a  disposition  to  fatten. 

In  the  case  of  the  horse,  it  was  seen  that  the  body  abstracted  from  the  neck 
and  head  is  comprehended  within  a  square,  the  body  occupying  about  the  half 
of  the  square.  But,  in  the  case  of  the  ox,  the  body  is  comprehended  within  a 
30 


350 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


rectangle,  as  in  the  following  fignre,  and  the  body  occupies  more  ihan  the  half 
of  the  rectangle. 

The  figures  given  show  the  difference  between  the  general  form  of  the  hor^e 
and  the  ox. 


C  C,  Cervical  vertebrae. 
D  D,  Dorsal  vertebrae. 
E  E,  Lumbar  vertebrae. 

A,  Bones  of  the  cranium. 

B,  Bones  of  the  face. 

H,  Sacrum  or  rump-bone, 

J  J,  Bones  of  the  tail. 

F  F,  Ribs. 

G,  Sternum  or  breast-bone. 

I,  Bone  of  the  pelvis. 

Ql,  Os  femoris — thigh-bone. 

R,  Pastella — stifle-bone. 


S,  Bones  of  the  leg. 

T,  Tarsal  bones,  or  bones  of  the  hock. 

U,  Metatarsal  bones  of  the  leg. 

V,  Phalangeal  bones,  or  bones  of  the 

foot. 
K,  Scapula — shoulder-blade. 
L,  Humerus. 
M,  Fore-arm. 
N,  Carpal  bones. 
O,  Metacarpal  bones. 
P,  Phalangeal  bones. 

2.  Hip-bone,  buckle  or  hook-bone. 

In  the  one  case,  there  is  the  outline  of  an  animal  fitted  for  speed;  in  the  other, 
of  an  animal  with  great  bulk  of  body,  and  unfitted  for  active  motion.  The  horse, 
which  occupied  too  much  of  the  square,  would  be  regarded  as  of  bad  form.  In 
the  ox,  the  more  of  the  rectangle  which  the  body  occupies,  the  more  does  the 
form  approach  to  that  required  by  the  breeder. 

The  tendency  to  early  growth  and  kindly  feeding  is  likewise  indicated  by 
the  touch.  This  property  is  known  to  graziers  and  breeders,  who  are  all  fami- 
liar with  the  soft  and  delicate  feel  of  a  good  animal.  They  call  it  a  mellow 
feel,  the  meaning  of  which  it  is  more  easy  to  conceive  than  define.  It  is  a  cer- 
tain softness  combined  with  elasticity  of  the  skin.  The  ditTerence  between  the 
.skin  of  a  coarse  animal  and  one  possessing  the  peculiar  softness  here  referred 
to.  can,  by  a  little  practice,  be  easil)-  discriminated. 

The  same  characters  which  indicate  a  disposition  to  fatten  in  the  ox,  indicate 
it  in  the  other  domesticated  animals.  The  fineness  of  the  bones, — the  large- 
ness of  the  body  as  compared  with  the  limbs,  neck,  and  head, — the  broadness 
of  the  chest, — the  roundness  of  the  body, — and  the  soft  and  elastic  touch, — iii^ 
dicate  in  all  cases  this  property.* 


*  The  following  are  several  of  the  popular  characters  which  are  generally 
given  as  indicating  the  feeding  powers  of  the  ox: — 1.  The  head  should  be  fine 
and  tapering  to  the  muzzle,  which  should  be  thin.     -2.  The  neck  .should  be 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  35 1 

jReoj-iuQ-  and  feeding. — The  period  of  gestation  of  the  cow  is  about  40  weeks, 
van'ing  somewhat  according  to  the  constitution  of  the  animal.  She  is  some- 
times capable  of  receiving  the  male  during  her  first  year,  but  he  should  not  be 
admitted  to  her  until  after  she  has  completed  her  second  year. 

Some  time  after  having  produced  her  young,  the  cow  manifests  a  desire  to 
receive  the  male.  This  continues  for  a  few  days,  and  returns  at  intervals  of  a 
fortnight  or  three  weeks.  When  the  male  is  admitted  to  her,  she  is  gene- 
rally at  once  impregnated.  Should  this  not  be  so,  the  instinctive  desire  re- 
turns, and  she  must  again  be  taken  to  the  male  until  she  has  been  impregnated, 
which  is  known  by  the  ceasing  of  these  periodical  returns. 

It  is  important  to  the  breeder  of  feeding  cattle  that  the  calves  should  be  bora 
early  in  the  season,  so  as  to  afford  the  means  of  bringing  them  well  forward 
upon  the  summer  grass.  The  proper  season  for  calving  is  in  the  months  of 
January,  February,  and  March.  When  the  period  of  producing  the  young 
has  arrived,  the  cow  is  to  be  attended  to  with  care,  kept  in  the  house,  and  the 
birth  of  the  young  waited  for  and  assisted  when  necessary.  The  position  of 
the  foetus  is  with  the  head  couched  between  the  fore-legs.  When  it  is  other- 
wise the  birth  is  more  diiiicult,  and  generally  the  calf  must  be  turned  into  the 
proper  position.  This  is  done  by  the  hand,  the  cow  being  laid  on  her  side,  and 
gently  raised  from  behind  by  hoisting.  But  iu  general  the  parturition  oi"  the 
cow  is  easy. 

The  calf,  on  being  born,  is  to  be  carried  away  and  placed  loose  in  a  pen  or 
crib  with  clean  dry  litter.  The  cow  should  not  be  sutfered  to  touch  or  recog- 
nise her  young,  as  this  only  tends  to  render  her  uneasy  and  distressed  by  the 
separation.  The  cow  should  then  be  milked  and  fed  with  some  nourishing 
food.  A  sheaf  of  barley  answers  the  purpose  very  well,  and  some  nourishing- 
gruel  should  also  be  given.  An  excellent  food  for  some  time  previous  to  calv- 
ing, and  some  time  afterwards,  is  linseed  boiled,  or  bruised  oil-cake  dissolved 
in  warm  water. 

In  mountainous  countries  the  cow  may  be  permitted  to  suckle  her  calf  during 
the  months  of  summer;  and  a  practice  similar  to  this  is  frequently  adopted 
with  the  breeds  of  the  plains.  But  where  a  good  breed  of  cows  exist,  the 
3^oung  should  at  once  be  separated  from  the  dam  and  fed  from  the  pail.  The 
first  milk  drawn  from  the  cow  is  viscid,  and  is  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  nourish- 
ment of  the  young;  for  which  reason  each  calf  should  first  be  fed  by  the  milk 
of  its  own  dam. 

The  quantity  of  milk  given  to  the  young  animal  should  be  as  much  as  it  can. 
consume,  which  will  be  found  to  be  somewhat  more  than  a  wine  gallon  in  the 
day.  The  quantity  which  it  can  consume,  however,  will  gradually  increase 
to  2  gallons  more,  or  3  gallons  in  all;  and  this  feeding  may  be  continued  for 
13  weeks,  when  the  animal  is  to  be  put  into  the  course  of  being  weaned,  and  in 
one  month  more  completely  weaned.  The  milk  given  to  the  calf  is  new  milk, 
that  is,  milk  directly  from  the  cow.  The  milk,  however,  may  be  economised, 
by  employing  substitutes  to  a  limited  extent,  and,  in  this  manner,  the  milk  of 
one  cow  be  made  to  rear  more  than  one  calf.  The  best  substitutes  are  farina- 
ceous food,  as  meal  and  porridge.     Linseed  or  oil-cake  can  be  given;  by  using 

free  from  coarseness,  large  where  attached  to  the  shoulder,  and  tapering  to 
where  it  joins  the  head.  3.  The  breast  should  be  wide,  and  projecting  well  in 
front  of  the  fore-limbs.  4.  The  shoulder  should  be  broad,  but  joining  without 
abruptness  to  the  neck  before,  and  to  the  chine  behind.  5.  The  back  and  loins 
should  be  straight,  wide,  and  flat.  6.  The  girth  behind  the  shoulders  should 
be  large:  the  ribs  should  be  well  arched,  and  the  distance  between  the  last  rib 
and  the  hook-bone  small.  7.  The  hook-bones  should  be  far  apart  and  nearly 
on  a  level  with  the  back-bone:  from  the  hook-bone  to  the  rump,  the  quarters 
should  be  long  and  straight.  8.  The  belly  should  not  hang  down;  the  flanks 
should  be  well  filled  up;  the  legs  should  be  fleshy  to  the  knee  and  hock,  but 
below  the  joints  they  should  be  tendinous.  The  tail  should  be  on  a  level  with 
the  back,  broad  at  the  top,  and  tapering  to  near  the  extremity.  The  hoofsshould 
be  small;  the  horns  fine  and  pointed,  and  slightl}' attached  to  the  head;  the  ears 
thin;  the  eyes  prominent  and  lively. 


352  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

a  little  of  these  dissolved  in  the  milk,  its  nourishing  properties  may  be  increased 
to  any  degree  required.  The  calf  should  be  fed  three  times  in  the  day,  regu- 
larly at  a  fixed  hour. 

After  twelve  weeks,  the  use  of  new  milk  may  be  given  up  and  skimmed  milk 
substituted,  making  it  lukewarm,  and  the  quantity  gradually  lessened;  and  in 
the  course  of  one  month  more,  that  is,  in  four  months  in  all,  the  animal  may 
be  entirely  weaned. 

This  indeed  is  more  liberal  feeding  than  is  usually  deemed  necessary;  j'et 
it  is  a  great  error  to  stint  animals  in  their  food  at  this  age,  with  the  view  of 
economising  milk.  It  is  from  this  cause  that  so  many  stunted  animals  are  to 
be  seen  in  the  hands  of  breeders  and  farmers,  that  never  afterwards  attain  to 
a  good  size,  nor  acquire  a  disposition  to  fatten. 

During  the  period  of  feeding  with  milk,  the  animals  will  be  taught  by  de- 
grees to  supply  themselves  with  food.  For  this  purpose,  when  the  season  is 
not  sufficiently  advanced,  a  bunch  of  sweet  hay,  or  an)'  green  herbs,  should  be 
placed  within  reach  of  the  animals:  and  a  little  salt  may  be  given,  which  they 
will  soon  learn  to  lick,  when  placed  beside  them.  If  the  weather  allows,  they 
may  be  turned  into  a  yard  for  a  few  hours  in  the  day,  and  after  a  time,  when 
the  weather  becomes  mild,  into  a  little  paddock  containing  sweet  grass,  housing 
them  at  first  at  night,  until  they  shall  be  fully  hardened  to  the  air. 

The  males,  when  not  intended  for  propagating,  may  be  castrated  when  30 
days  old.  The  operation  is  easily  performed,  by  two  incisions  with  a  sharp 
knife.  An  analogous  operation,  termed  spaying,  is  sometimes  performed  upon 
the  female,  when  she  is  intended  for  feed;  but  the  more  approved  practice  is 
to  preserve  her  entire. 

The  weaning  of  the  calf,  it  has  been  said,  may  take  place  at  the  end  of  four 
months.  The  calf  is  then  merely  turned  into  good  pasture  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  season,  and  fed  like  the  other  stock,  and  generally  along  with 
the  cows  or  feeding  oxen;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  all  growing  animals,  it  should 
be  allowed  ample  food. 

The  subsequent  treatment  of  calves  necessarily  depends  upon  the  nature  of 
the  farm,  and  the  species  of  food  which  can  be  supplied.  Where  there  is 
nothing  but  coarse  pastures  and  inferior  hay,  and  when  no- roots  or  cultivated 
forage  can  be  raised,  then  the  stock  of  the  farm  must  be  suited  to  these  cir- 
cumstances. 

In  cases  where  no  other  food  can  be  supplied  than  the  natural  produce  of  the 
farm,  the  same  care  and  delicacy  in  rearing  are  not  necessary  or  practicable, 
as  under  a  more  artificial  system  of  feeding.  The  cows,  in  such  cases,  are 
usually  permitted  to  suckle  their  young.  During  the  first  winter,  the  young 
animals  receive  such  pasture  and  natural  hay  as  the  farm  affords.  In  the  fol- 
lowing summer  they  are  kept  on  the  coarse  pastures  of  the  farm;  in  the  follow- 
ing Avinter  they  are  maintained  as  in  the  former  one,  and  so  on  until  disposed 
of  to  the  feeder,  which  may  be  in  the  second  or  third,  or  even  sometimes  the 
fourth,  year  of  their  age.  The  sooner  cattle,  under  these  circumstances,  can 
be  brought  to  maturity,  the  better  is  it  for  the  interests  of  the  breeder. 

The  system  of  breeding,  however,  where  the  nature  of  the  farm  is  such  as 
to  afford  a  supply  of  proper  food  to  the  animals,  and  where  the  finer  class  of 
stock  is  kept,  is  altogether  different.  In  this  case,  the  principle  of  the  system 
followed,  is  to  afford  a  full  supply  of  food  to  the  animal,  from  the  birth  to  the 
time  that  it  is  transferred  to  the  butcher.  This  principle  applies  to  all  animals 
intended  to  be  fattened.  .# 

The  calves,  after  being  weaned,  are  put,  it  has  been  said,  on  good  pasture, 
and  fed  for  the  remainder  of  the  season.  When  the  herbage  fails  in  autumn, 
the  animals  should  be  put  in  straw-yards,  with  sheds,  into  which  they  may  re- 
tire for  shelter.  The  number  put  into  one  division  or  5'ard  should  not  be  too 
great,  though  this  is  less  important  at  this  period  of  their  life  than  afterwards.^ 
Calves  to  the  number  of  20  may  be  kept  together  in  one  yard,  provided  they 
have  plenty  of  room;  but  when  animals  are  of  a  large  breed,  it  is  better  that 
tlie  number  should  not  exceed  10. 

The  yards  should  have  pure  water  in  each,  conveyed  to  them  by  pipes,  and 
retained  in  troughs,  to  which  the  animals  can  have  access  at  all  times.  Each 
yard  should  have,  along  one  at  least  of  the  sides,  shallow  troughs,  formed  of 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  353 

wood  or  stone,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  roots,  and  similar  food.  The  yards 
should  be  so  dry,  that  the  animals  may  not  be  incommoded.  The  arrangement 
of  these  yards,  with  their  sheds,  will  be  seen  in  the  design  of  farm  buildings 
afterwards  given.  Before  bringing  the  calves  home  for  the  winter,  the  yards 
should  be  bedded  with  a  layer  of  coarse  straw,  or  dried  stems  of  plants  of  any 
kind.  In  the  middle  of  each  of  these  yards  should  be  placed  one  or  more  racks 
for  containing  straw,  and  preventing  its  being  strewed  about.  The  best  kind 
of  straw  is  oat-straw,  and  the  rack  should  be  kept  constantly  supplied. 

A  quantity  of  turnips  (for  this  we  may  suppose  to  be  the  species  of  green 
food  used)  must  be  put  into  the  troughs  in  the  morning;  again  a  quantity  at 
mid-day;  and,  lastly,  a  quantity  in  the  evening,  before  night-fall. 

The  calves  must  receive  a  full  allowance  of  turnips,  that  is,  they  must  receive 
as  large  a  quantity  as  they  can  consume.  At  the  same  time,  the  racks  must 
be  kept  always  filled  with  straw,  and  some  litter  sprinkled,  wherever  necessary, 
over  the  yards,  so  as  to  keep  them  dry.  When  straw  fails,  hay  must  be  sup- 
plied, and  in  place  of  turnips,  should  these  also  fail,  potatoes  or  other  succulent 
food. 

In  the  month  of  May,  generally  about  the  middle  of  it,  in  the  northern  parts 
of  this  country,  but  several  weeks  earlier  in  the  more  southern  parts,  the  pas- 
tures will  alford  sufficient  food  for  the  young  stock,  which  have  now  completed 
their  first  year,  and  are,  in  the  language  of  farmers,  yearlings,  or  one-year  old. 
Until  the  grass  is  fully  ready,  the  animals  should  on  no  account  be  turned  out 
to  the  pastures,  and  care  must  be  taken  that  the  grounds  are  not  overstocked, 
lest  the  animals  be  in  any  degree  stinted  in  their  food.  They  should  at  this 
period  be  gaining  fat  as  well  as  growth;  and  no  greater  error  in  the  manage- 
ment of  feeding  cattle  can  be  committed,  than  to  allow  their  progress  to  be  in 
any  degree  checked  by  the  want  of  sufficient  food. 

After  pasturing  for  the  summer,  and  at  the  same  period  as  in  the  former 
year,  namely,  before  the  end  of  October,  the  animals,  still  yearlings,  are  taken 
up  from  grass. 

In  the  case  of  the  finer  breeds,  the  animals  may  now  be  prepared  for  the 
butcher;  for  which  they  will  be  ready  in  the  following  spring,  after  being  fully 
fed  during  the  winter,  or  after  having  received  some  grass  during  the  follow- 
ing summer.  This  is  the  perfection  of  rearing  and  feeding  oxen,  and  the  prac- 
tice shows  how  great  must  be  the  superiority  of  a  breed  that  can  be  fattened  at 
this  early  age.  It  is  only,  however,  the  finer  classes  of  animals,  and  that  under 
a  perfect  system  of  feeding,  that  can  be  thus  early  matured.  The  more  com- 
mon case  is,  that  they  require  one  winter's  feeding  more  before  they  are  read}' 
for  the  butcher;  and  it  will  be  better,  therefore,  to  proceed  upon  this  supposi- 
tion in  describing  their  further  management. 

The  year-olds,  then,  are  to  be  taken  up  from  grass  as  soon  as  the  pastures 
begin  to  fail  in  October  or  November.  They  are  put  into  yards  with  shelter- 
sheds  as  before;  but,  in  place  of  20  in  a  yard,  there  should  not  be  more  than 
10,  the  animals  being  now  larger  of  size,  and  more  apt  to  interfere  with  one 
another  in  feeding;  and  they  are  to  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  during 
the  first  winter.  They  are  to  be  well  littered,  to  be  fed  three  times  in  the  day 
with  turnips,  and  to  receive  their  full  allowance  of  straw. 

It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  this  is  the  period  in  the  age  of  the  animal 
at  which  a  slight  relaxation  may  be  made  in  the  system  of  full  feeding — not 
that  it  is  well  to  relax  in  any  degree,  but  that  in  practice,  with  the  common 
supply  of  food  which  can  be  obtained  on  a  farm,  it  is  frequently  necessary  to 
do  so.  But  wherever  food  can  be  obtained  to  carry  on  the  system  of  full  feed- 
ing during  the  second  -winter  as  during  the  first,  it  should  be  done;  for  the  im- 
portance is  very  great  of  keeping  the  animals  not  only  growing,  but  fattening, 
from  their  birth  to  their  full  maturity.  But  if  the  feeder  is  unable  to  carry  on 
the  same  system  of  feeding  during  the  second  winter  as  during  the  first,  be 
ji^may  limit  the  quantity  of  succulent  food,  as  to  the  half  of  the  quantity  of  tixr- 
nips  which  the  animals,  if  unrestricted,  would  consume;  giving,  however,  in  all 
cases,  an  unlimited  quantity  of  dry  provender.  In  general,  however,  the  neces- 
sity for  the  reduction  of  the  quantity  of  the  richer  food  is  much  less  than  is 
.supposed,  for  if  substitutes  for  the  turnip  cannot  be  obtained,  the  quantity  of 
30* 


354 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS. 


stock  may  be  reduced  to  the  means  possessed  for  carrying  it  on  in  a  proper 
manner. 

In  all  cases,  then,  the  study  of  the  feeder,  must  be  to  carry  on  the  feeding 
animals  with  a  full  allowance  of  good  food  from  their  birth  to  their  maturity. 
But  the  period  at  which  he  can  relax  a  little  in  this  s)'stem  of  full  feeding,  and 
substitute  more  common  provender,  is  in  the  second  winter.  Yet  even  while 
he  does  relax  to  the  extent  of  diminishing  the  more  feeding  food,  he  must  take 
especial  care  that  the  animals,  if  they  shall  not  gain  fat,  shall  lose  no  part  of 
their  former  condition.  It  is  opposed  to  all  the  true  principles  of  breeding  to 
allow  animals  to  fall  off  from  the  condition  at  which  they  had  arrived. 

It  is  not  necessary,  however,  after  the  first  winter,  to  give  the  same  high 
feeding  to  the  females  intended  for  breeding,  as  to  the  males.  The  object  pro- 
posed with  the  females  intended  for  breeding,  is  not  to  render  them  fat,  but  to 
maintain  them  in  a  healthy  and  growing  state.  This  is  to  be  done,  not  by 
giving  them  a  full  allowance  of  the  richer  food,  but  such  a  portion  of  it  only, 
as,  joined  to  the  more  common  provender  of  the  farm,  will  maintain  them  in  a 
healthy  state.  When  the  yearling  steers  are  to  be  carried  on  during  their 
second  winter,  on  a  modified,  and  not  a  full  allowance  of  richer  food,  then  the 
heifers  need  not  be  separated  from  them,  because  both  are  to  be  fed  in  the  same 
manner;  but  when  the  steers  are  at  this  lime  to  receive  full  feeding,  then  the 
heifers  are  to  be  put  into  a  yard  with  a  shed  by  themselves.  They  should  not 
be  tied  to  stakes,  according  to  the  common  practice,  but  kept  in  yards  with 
sheds.  In  the  following  summer  they  are  pastured  along  with  the  older  cows, 
and  receive  the  male  as  soon  as  they  are  ready  to  do  so,  which,  in  the  case  of 
heifers,  is  later  than  in  that  of  older  cows.  When  winter  comes,  they  are  to 
be  put  into  their  separate  pen  again,  and  fed  as  in  the  first  winter,  and  when 
within  a  few  weeks  of  the  period  of  calving,  they  may  be  tied  up  gently  in  their 
stall,  or  be  put  into  a  separate  box. 

But  to  return  to  the  feeding  stock: — The  yearling  steers  are  fed  in  their 
yards,  either  with  their  full  allowance  of  straw  and  green  food,  or  else  with  a 
full  allowance  of  dried  provender,  and  a  modified  allowance  of  green  food.  By 
the  month  of  May  they  have  completed  their  second  j'ear,  and  are  now  termed 
two-year-old  steers.  When  the  pastures  are  fully  ready  for  them,  they  are 
turned  out  to  feed,  and  are  kept  in  these  pastures  until  the  herbage  fails  in 
autumn,  when  they  are  to  be  taken  up  once  more  and  fed  on  green  food  in  the 
fullest  quantity  in  which  they  can  consume  it. 

Two  methods  may  be  adopted  in  this  final  feeding  of  the  animals.  They 
may  either  be  tied  in  the  house,  having  a  trough  or  manger  to  feed  from,  or 
they  may  be  kept  in  small  yards,  with  open  sheds  attached. 

In  the  first  case,  that  is,'when  confined  to  the  house,  and  fed  from  a  trough 
or  manger,  the  animals  are  tied  by  the  neck  to  upright  posts.  The  best  method 
of  attaching  them  is  by  a  light  chain,  which  encircles  the  neck,  and  is  fastened 
to  a  ring,  moveable  upon  a  stake.  In  this  manner  the  animal  has  the  power 
of  raising  and  lowering  his  head  with  such  freedom  as  permits  him  to  lie 
down. 

But  instead  of  a  series  of  upright  posts,  it  is  better  that  each  animal  have 
his  own  stall.  A  partitioii  of  wood  at  the  heads  of  the  oxen,  or,  a  very  good 
substitute,  a  broad  stone,  is  placed  between  each  animal.  A  bar  of  iron  is  then 
fastened  to  the  stall,  with  a  ring  moveable  upon  it,  to  which  is  fixed  the  chain 
which  goes  round  the  neck  of  the  animal.  In  this  manner  each  ox  is  prevented 
from  interfering  with  the  provender  of  his  neighbour,  in  the  manner  shown 
under  the  head  farm-buildings. 

The  other  system  of  feeding  is  in  small  yards,  with  sheds.  Each  shed  with 
its  yard  should  be  of  a  size  to  contain  easily  two  oxen,  or,  if  it  is  made  of  a  size 
to  hold  four  oxen,  there  should  be  a  division  between  each  pair,  so  that  more 
than  two  shall  not  be  together;  and  in  the  open  yard,  and  close  to  the  wall, 
should  be  fixed  troughs  for  holding  the  provender.  # 

Under  this  system  of  feeding,  the  animals  have  more  freedom  than  when  fed 
in  close  houses;  and  that  moderate  exercise,  which,  without  impeding  their 
fattening,  tends  to  keep  them  in  health.  They  receive  the  benefit  of  the  sun 
and  air,  and  have  alwa}^s  the  shelter  shed  to  retire  to.  They  have  the  power 
of  going  to  their  food  at  all  times,  even  during  the  night,  and  this  food  being  in 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS.  355 

the  open  air,  is  kept  always  fresh.  The  treatment  of  the  cattle,  too,  in  these 
sheds  and  yards  is  easy,  and  the  injurious  effects  to  the  animals  obviated  of 
any  deficient  ventilation,  or  any  want  of  care  in  the  management.  And  expe- 
rience has  fully  shown  that  the  finest  animals  may  be  fed  in  these  sheds,  better 
even  than  in  the  warmest  house,  when  they  are  tied  to  the  stake. 

But  the  latter  practice  of  feeding  is  the  more  common;  and  it  is  the  most 
necessary,  too,  to  be  described,  because  it  requires  greater  attention  on  the 
part  of  the  keeper. 

When  the  cattle  are  for  the  first  time  to  be  fixed  to  their  stakes,  some  care  is 
needed  to  induce  them  to  go  forward.  Gentle  means  must  be  employed;  they 
must  be  somewhat  tightly  tied  at  first  to  prevent  their  turning  round;  and. 
watched  for  a  time,  lest  they  injure  themselves  by  strugeling.  They  must  be 
well  littered,  and  the  turnips  placed  in  the  low  manger  of  the  stall  before  them. 
Early  in  the  morning  the  first  operation  to  be  performed  is,  to  remove  the 
dung  from  behind  the  cattle,  and  to  place  tlie  turnips  in  the  stall,  the  stems 
and  tap-roots  having  been  previously  cut  off.  While  the  cattle  are  feeding, 
the  dung  is  to  be  wheeled  out  of  the  house,  and  deposited  in  the  yard  or  dung- 
pit.  When  the  turnips  are  eaten  up,  a  little  good  oat-straw  or  hay  may  be 
placed  before  the  animals;  and  they  being  now  littered,  will  soon  lie  down  and 
chew  the  cud. 

At  mid-day  they  are  again  to  be  fed  as  before,  and  again  before  sunset,  a 
little  provender  of  hay  and  straw  being  placed  before  them  after  each  meal; 
and  finally,  the  keeper,  before  retiring  for  the  night,  is  to  examine  them  with 
a  light,  see  that  all  is  right,  stir  their  litter,  and  place  a  little  hay  or  straw  be- 
fore them.  Under  this  system  the  oxen  will  be  fully  fed,  and  induced  during 
the  intervals  of  feeding  to  lie  down,  and  left  to  repose  during  the  night;  or  they 
will  take  a  little  dry  food,  should  they  be  inclined  to  feed.  Early  in  the 
morning  the  same  process  recommences;  and  the  utmost  regularity  is  to  be 
observed  in  these  operations,  for  the  animals  know  the  precise  time  of  feeding, 
and  become  restless  when  it  is  not  observed.  Careful  feeders  currycomb  their 
cattle  in  feeding,  and  in  all  cases  observe  that  the  skin  is  kept  free  from  vermin, 
or  other  impurity. 

Frequently  the  turnips  are  cut  into  slices  by  the  turnip-slicer.  This,  though 
not  essential,  is  very  beneficial,  by  enabling  the  animals  to  take  the  turnips 
more  easily  into  their  mouths,  and  masticate  them.  In  spring  the  white  tur- 
nips decay,  and  then  there  should  be  a  succedaneum,  first  of  yellow,  and  next 
of  Swedish,  turnips,  which  last  retain  their  juices  the  latest  in  spring. 

If  the  animals  are  kept  in  the  j^ards  with  shelter-sheds,  the  principle  of  feed- 
ing is  the  same  as  that  described;  but  the  dung  in  this  case  is  not  removed  from 
the  animals,  the  litter  being  spread  above  it. 

An  ox  of  50  or  GO  stone  weight  will  consume  about  a  ton  of  turnips  in  the 
week,  or  about  an  acre  in  24  weeks.  If  he  thrive  well,  he  will  gain  in  weight 
14  lbs.  or  more  in  the  week. 

Sometimes  cattle,  especially  when  tied  to  the  post,  are  apt  to  be  choked  by  a 
piece  of  turnip  sticking  in  the  throat.  In  this  case,  the  common  practice  is,  to 
endeavour  to  push  the  piece  of  turnip  gently,  but  firmly,  down  into  the  stomach 
by  means  of  a  flexible  stalk,  terminating  in  a  round  bulb  of  wood  or  bone. 

The  feeding  with  turnips  is  the  most  simple  and  economical  method  prac- 
tised in  this  country.  Turnips,  however,  cannot  in  all  cases  be  raised  in  sufii- 
cient  quantity,  and  in  some  cases  they  cannot  be  produced  at  all,  and  then,  if 
a  system  of  feeding  is  to  be  carried  on,  recourse  must  be  had  to  other  sub- 
stances. 

Mangel-wurtzel,  the  carrot,  the  parsnep,  and  the  cabbage,  are  all  suited  to 
the  purpose  of  feeding;  and  the  manner  of  consuming  them  is  so  siniilar  to 
that  of  the  turnip,  that  when  the  mode  of  applying  the  one  is  known,  that  of 
using  the  others  is  easy. 

*  Potatoes  are  also  a  nourishing  food  for  ruminating  animals.  When  given 
raw,  they  are  applied  in  the  same  manner  as  the  turnip;  but  care  should  be 
taken  to  begin  somewhat  gradually,  because  this  food  is  apt  to  scour  and  injure 
cattle  at  first.  Potatoes  and  turnips  may,  with  great  advantage  to  cattle,  be 
given  at  the  same  time.  Different  kinds  of  food  seem  to  have  an  exceeding 
good  effect  in  promoting  the  tendency  to  fatten  of  all  cattle;  and  in  the  case  of 


356 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


feeding  with  potatoes  and  turnips,  one  meal  of  the  former,  and  two  of  the  latter, 
in  the  day,  will  be  found  to  be  a  good  arrangement.  Potatoes  steamed  may  be 
given  to  oxen;  but  steamed  food  is  never  of  the  same  advantage  to  ruminating 
animals,  as  to  animals  with  single  stomachs,  as  the  horse  and  the  hog. 

Bruised  corn  and  meal  are  occasionally  employed  in  feeding;  but  these  are 
expensive,  and  only  subsidiary  to  more  common  food. 

Another  species  of  feeding  is  the  refuse  of  the  distillery.  This  consists  of 
the  grains  of  malt  after  distillation,  and  of  the  wash  or  liquid  refuse,  and 
"wherever  these  can  be  obtained,  they  may  be  applied  to  the  feeding  of  cattle 
with  success.  They  form  a  very  nutritive  food,  rejected  often  at  first  by  the 
animals,  but  afterwards  consumed  by  them  with  eagerness.  The  grains  may 
be  given  at  the  rate  of  from  a  bushel  to  a  bushel  and  a  half  in  the  day,  with  a 
proper  supply  of  dry  food;  the  liquid  portion,  or  wash,  is  drunk  by  the  animals. 
The  refuse  of  the  brewery  is  in  like  manner  used  for  the  fattening  of  oxen. 

Oil-cake  is  one  of  the  substances  employed  in  feeding.  It  is  highly  nutri- 
tive, is  greatly  relished  by  cattle,  and  it  never  fails  to  increase  their  tendency 
to  fatten  when  given  with  their  other  food.  It  may  be  given  in  quantities  of 
2  lbs.  or  more  in  the  day,  along  with  any  other  food.  It  is  frequently  given 
■with  hay  alone,  and  the  quantity  that  will  feed  an  ox,  is  from  12  to  15  lbs.,  with 
half  a  stone  of  hay  in  the  day;  but  this  is  an  expensive  feeding,  and  the  better 
mode  of  using  oil-cake  is  to  give  it  in  small  quantities,  with  less  costly  proven- 
der. It  may  be  given  with  great  benefit  along  with  turnips.  In  this  manner 
the  turnips  upon  a  farm  may  be  economised,  and  a  much  greater  number  of 
animals  matured  upon  it  than  would  otherwise  be  practicable. 

Salt  should  be  given  to  feeding  animals.  The  use  of  this  universal  condi- 
ment in  the  feeding  of  oxen,  has  been  known  from  the  earliest  times.  The 
quantity  given  may  be  from  4  to  5  oz.  in  the  day  to  old  oxen,  to  yearlings  from 
2  to  3  oz.,  and  to  calves  i  oz.  All  oxen  will  soon  learn  to  take  it  if  placed 
within  their  reach. 

The  general  method  of  feeding  oxen  in  this  country  in  summer,  is  in  the 
fields  in  the  manner  described;  and  this  is  the  more  simple  and  ea.sy  method, 
and  that  which  is  the  most  likely  to  be  generally  followed  in  a  country  abound- 
ing in  pastures.  The  practice  of  soiling,  however,  has  been  often  recom- 
mended, and  partially  adopted,  in  the  feeding  of  oxen.  But  this  has  usually 
been  in  favourable  situations  with  respect  to  productiveness  of  the  soil.  It  is 
not  a  practice  well  suited  to  very  young  stock,  which  require  moderate  exer- 
cise, and  do  not  grow  so  well  when  kept  and  fed  in  this  manner,  as  when  al- 
lowed to  pa,sture  in  the  fields.  Soiling,  therefore,  when  it  is  practised  in  any 
case,  should  generally  be  confined  to  the  older  stock,  at  the  period  of  their  final 
feeding. 

The  best  method  of  keeping  oxen,  when  soiled,  is  in  the  same  small  sheds 
and  yards  as  are  employed  for  feeding  on  turnips.  The  food  must  be  carried 
home,  and  given  to  the  cattle  from  racks,  in  moderate  portions  at  a  time.  They 
must  be  fed  three  times,  and  may  be  fed  four  times,  in  the  day;  and  they  should 
be  kept  carefully  littered.  Between  the  period  of  consumption  of  the  first  crop 
of  clover  or  other  green  forage  and  the  second,  there  is  sometimes  an  interval. 
At  this  time,  therelbre,  there  must  be  a  supply  of  other  food,  as  of  tares,  which, 
if  sown  in  the  preceding  March,  will  be  ready  at  this  time,  and  will  carry  on 
the  cattle  until  the  other  forage  is  ready  for  being  cut  a  second  time. 

The  rearing  and  feeding  of  cattle  has  been  described  from  the  birth  to  the 
maturity  of  the  animals;  but  deviations  from  the  modes  described  necessarily 
take  place: — The  breeder,  in  the  case  of  certain  farms,  is  not  the  feeder:  He 
merely  rears  the  animal  to  the  maturity  of  age,  or  degree  of  fatness,  which  the 
nature  of  his  farm  allows,  while  other  persons  complete  the  process  of  feeding, 
in  the  manner  which  their  peculiar  situations  render  profitable  or  expedient. 

The  hardier  breeds  of  the  mountains  are  in  general  request  for  being  fed  in 
this  manner.  They  are  generally  purchased  lean  before  winter,  and  taken  tq 
all  parts  of  the  low  country.  They  are  there  fed  on  straw,  or  coarse  natural 
hay,  during  the  first  winter,  with  merely  such  an  allowance  of  green  food  as 
can  be  spared;  and  they  are  either  grazed  and  fattened  in  the  following  sum- 
mer, or  fed  for  another  winter  and  summer,  as  suits  best  with  their  age  and 
condition. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS,  357 

And  not  only  the  mountain  breeds,  but  lean  cattle  of  all  kinds,  in  a  more  or 
less  advanced  state  of  age  and  fatness,  are  in  the  course  of  being  transferred; 
and  a  great  part  of  the  profit  of  farmers  depends  upon  the  skill  with  which,  on 
the  one  hand,  they  make  their  purchases,  and,  on  the  other,  effect  their  sales  of 
stock. 

Calves,  instead  of  being  reared  to  maturity  in  the  manner  described,  are  fre- 
quently disposed  of  in  a  fattened  state  when  young.  The  calves,  under  this 
system,  may  be  transferred  soon  after  their  birth  to  the  butcher,  or  they  may 
be  fed  for  a  longer  period  on  milk.  In  the  latter  case,  they  are  rarely  good 
veal  in  less  than  5  or  6  weeks,  and  the  most  approved  period  for  keeping  them 
is  10  weeks.  They  are  fed  liberally  on  milk;  but  linseed  cake  and  other  feed- 
ing substances  may  be  also  employed.  The  cribs  in  which  they  are  kept  should 
be  perfectly  dry,  well  littered,  and  ventilated. 

Weight  of  oxen. — The  parts  of  an  ox  to  which  the  term  offal  is  usually  ap- 
plied are  tlie  head  and  feet,  the  tallow,  the  hide  and  horns,  and  the  entrails. 

The  fat  of  an  ox,  it  has  been  said,  is  that  unctuous  substance  which  is  inter- 
mingled with,  and  surrounds,  the  muscles  and  other  parts.  That  which  grows 
internally  is  mostly  termed  tallow,  from  the  uses  to  which  it  is  applied.  The 
tallow  is  generally  considered  to  be  of  the  same  value,  weight  for  weight,  as 
the  flesh  of  the  fore-quarters;  and  so  likewise  is  the  hide.  These  and  the  other 
parts,  termed  offal,  are  commonly  regarded  as  forming  about  one-fifth  of  the 
value  of  the  animal.  When  beef  is  said  to  be  sold  at  a  certain  price  sinking 
Hie  off'aAs,  the  meaning  merely  is,  that  the  whole  price  of  the  animal  is  reckoned 
upon  the  carcass  alone;  hence,  when  beef  is  sold  at  a  certain  price  sinking  the 
ofTals,  that  price  is  more  than  if  it  were  sold  without  including  in  it  the  price  of 
the  oflals. 

That  portion  of  the  ox  which  is  used  for  food,  exclusive  of  the  offals,  is 
usually  termed  the  quarters,  because  the  animal,  on  being  cut  up,  is  divided 
into  four  parts  or  quarters.  The  most  esteemed  parts  for  food  are  the  hind- 
quarters. These  weigh  somewhat  less  than  the  fore-quarters;  though  the  more 
perfect  the  form  of  the  animal  is,  the  more  nearly  do  the  fore  and  hind-quarters 
approach  in  weight. 

Practice  enables  persons  to  judge  of  the  weight  of  animals  by  the  eye  alone; 
but  it  is  convenient  to  be  able  to  ascertain  the  w-eight  by  measurement.  This 
may  be  done  with  considerable  correctness  in  the  following  manner: — When 
the  animal  is  standing  in  a  natural  position,  measure  his  length  in  feet  from 
the  foremost  upper  corner  of  the  shoulder-blade  in  a  straight  line  to  the  hind- 
most point  of  the  rump;  then  measure  the  girth  or  circumference  immediately 
behind  the  fore  legs;  multiply  the  square  of  the  girth  by  the  length,  and  this 
product  by  .238,  Avhich  will  give  the  weight  of  the  quarters  in  stones  of  14  lbs. 
each.  This  rule  has  been  arrived  at,  by  regarding  the  body  of  the  animal  as  a 
cylinder,  and  determining,  by  experiment,  what  proportion,  on  an  average,  the 
actual  weight  of  the  quarters  of  animals  bears  to  the  cylinder. 

Another  method  of  ascertaining  the  weight  of  fat  cattle,  is,  by  weighing  them 
when  alive,  and  multiplying  the  gross  weight  by  .605.*  This  rule  has  been 
arrived  at,  by  determining,  from  an  average  of  cases,  what  proportion  the  dead 
weight  of  the  four  quarters  is  found  to  bear  to  the  living  weight  of  the  animal. 

Diseases  of  oxen. — The  diseases  of  the  larger  ruminating  animals  are  not  of 
very  frequent  occurrence,  although  they  are  often  dangerous  and  fatal. 

A  malignant  distemper,  termed  murrain,  has  sometimes  made  dreadful 
ravages  among  the  cattle  of  many  countries,  returning  for  succes.sive  years  to 
the  same  country,  and  sweeping  entire  generations  of  cattle  away.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  17th  century,  it  long  raged  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  when  it 
visited  this  island,  continued  its  ravages  for  many  years.  But  happily,  since 
the  period  of  its  first  introduction,  its  occurrence  has  only  been  partial  and 
local . 

Cattle  are  subject  to  inflammatory  diseases,  which  receive  various  names,  as 
quarter-ill,  black-quarter,  showing-of-blood,  &c.    Bleeding  at  the  commence- 


*  Paper  in  Quarterly  Journal  of  Aericulture  by  Mr.  Fergusson  of  Wood- 
hill. 


358  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

ment  of  these  diseases  is  proper;  but  the  subsequent  treatment  depends  upon 
the  stages  of  the  disease  at  which  the  remedies  are  applied,  and  other  circum- 
stances. 

Cattle  are  subject  to  colds,  which  frequent!}'  terminate  fatailj'.  Colds  are 
brought  on,  amongst  other  causes,  by  sudden  changes  of  temperature,  whether 
of  the  atmo.«phere  or  of  the  place  of  feeding  of  the  animal.  Bleeding  may  in 
most  of  these  cases  be  proper,  and  in  all  cases  shelter  should  be  afforded,  and 
warm  food  supplied,  as  mashes,  boiled  turnips,  and  the  like. 

Cattle  are  subject  to  different  diseases,  Avhich  receive  the  general  name  of 
cholic,  or  gripes.  Diarrhoea  and  dysentery  are  also  diseases  of  caitle,  and  many 
diseases  might  be  mentioned;  but  it  would  be  of  no  avail  to  enumerate  them, 
without  entering  into  lengthened  details. 

In  general,  what  falls  within  the  province  of  the  farmer  maybe  compre- 
hended under  the  head  of  food  and  general  treatment.  The  medicines  which 
he  should  venture  to  administer  should  be  cautiously  given.  Where  violent 
inflammatory  diseases  attack  the  animal,  he  may  always  venture  to  bleed  in 
the  first  stage;  when  costiveness  occurs,  he  may  administer  some  laxative 
medicine;  when  diarrhcea  or  looseness  occurs,  he  may  give  .some  laudanum, 
and  in  all  cases  mashes  of  boiled  or  steamed  food.  The  bleeding  of  the  ox,  it 
i.s  to  be  observed,  should  alwa3's  be  large.  It  maybe  continued  until  the  ani- 
mal appears  to  stagger,  but  then,  or  whenever  the  pulse  is  affected,  it  must 
cease. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  diseases  of  cattle,  with  regard  to  which  the  far- 
mer has  to  act  upon  the  inslant,  is  hoven,  or  inflation  of  the  rumen.  The 
paunch,  or  first  stomach,  of  ruminating  animals,  is  of  large  size,  and  as  the 
green  food  which  is  taken  into  it  is  frequently  charged  with  moisture,  the 
stomach  is  not  only  overloaded,  and  unable  to  carry  on  its  functions,  but  the 
mass  fermenting,  air  is  generated,  by  which  the  stomach  becomes  so  distended, 
that  either  a  rupture  of  it  takes  place,  or  the  animal  dies  of  suffocation.  This 
disease  most  frequently  occurs  when  animals  are  turned  into  rich  succulent 
pastures,  particularly  of  clovers,  when  charged  with  the  morning  dews. 

Sometimes  powerful  stimulants  are  given  to  assist  the  action  of  the  stomach, 
and  these  are  often  sufiicient;  or  a  hollow  flexible  tube  is  introduced  into  the 
stomach  through  the  mouth,  that  the  air  may  be  permitted  to  escape.  Should 
this  operation  not  succeed,  then  an  opening  must  be  instantly  made  through 
the  left  side  into  the  paunch.  This  is  usually  done  by  a  pen-knife,  while  a  quill, 
or  something  similar,  is  introduced,  to  allow  the  air  to  escape.  But  recently 
the  stomach-pump  has  been  employed  for  this  and  other  diseases,  and  with  the 
best  effects.  It  is  fitted  to  withdraw  instantly  the  contents  of  the  stomach,  and 
also  to  inject  liquids,  so  that,  when  the  mass  of  the  stomach  is  too  hard,  the 
matter  may  be  first  diluted  by  injected  liquids,  and  then  withdrawn.  The 
stomach-pump  is  also  suited  to  various  diseases  of  the  horse,  and  may  be  formed 
of  smaller  size  for  the  sheep;  so  that  by  means  of  this  instrument,  the  lives  of 
many  valuable  animals  may  be  saved  upon  a  farm. 


III.    THE  SHEEP. 

The  sheep  is,  perhaps,  all  things  considered,  one  of  the 
most  valuable  animals  given  to  man  by  a  beneficent  Provi- 
dence. No  animal  is  of  greater  utility.  Inhabiting  almost 
every  part  of  the  globe  from  Iceland  to  the  torrid  zone,  sheep 
not  only  supply  food  and  clothing  to  the  tens  of  thousands  of 
persons  who  cultivate  and  rear  them,  but  the  wool  they  afford 
sustain  in  active  employment  large  and  extensive  manufactur- 
ing establishments,  thus  contributing  in  large  proportion  to  the 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  359 

productive  labour,  the  commercial  prosperity,  and  the  wealth 
or  opulence  of  various  countries.  Existing  in  such  a  diversity 
of  climate,  the  varieties  of  their  form  and  clothing  (fleeces)  is 
necessarily  greatly  varied.  They  are  generally  cultivated  for 
their  wool  or  flesh;  in  some  countries — the  United  States  for 
instance — for  both. 

The  history  of  the  sheep  is  one  of  no  little  interest  to  the 
naturalist.  The  earliest  scripture  records  refer  to  the  anti- 
deluvian  breed — "Abel  brought  the  firstlings  of  his  flock;" 
and  again,  Abel  became  "a  keeper  of  sheep ^  and  Cain  a  tiller 
of  the  ground."*  There  is  no  record  to  prove  that  sheep  were 
at  this  early  period  used  for  food,  and  this  opinion  is  strength- 
ened by  the  fact  that  all  ancient  history  is  uniform  in  asserting, 
that,  in  the  golden  or  antideluvian  age,  the  use  of  animal  food 
by  man  was  unknown;  and  we  have  no  direct  evidence  in  the 
scriptures  that  this  use  of  animal  food  by  man,  was  divinely 
sanctioned  until  after  the  deluge.  When  man,  by  his  own 
voluntary  act,  became  an  outcast  from  Paradise,  the  curse  pro- 
nounced upon  him  for  his  disobedience  was — '"Cursed  is  the 
ground  for  thy  sake.  In  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the 
days  of  thy  life,  and  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field — in  the 
sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread."  But  mark  how  differ- 
ent is  the  language  addressed  to  Noah  after  the  flood.  "Every 
moving  thing  that  liveth  shall  be  meat  for  you."\ 

At  what  period  the  grand  improvement  in  the  management 
of  the  sheep — the  periodical  separation  of  the  wool  from  the 
])elt — the  shearing — was  first  introduced,  is  unknown.  The 
earliest  and  oldest  process  was  to  drive  the  flocks  rapidly 
through  a  very  narrow  passage,  when  by  their  pressure  against 
each  other,  the  greater  part  of  the  fleece  was  loosened,  or  com- 
pletely detached.  The  falling'  of  the  fleece  was  early  observ- 
ed, and  when,  before  the  invention  of  shearing,  wool  had 
acquired  a  high  value,  a  singular,  but  most  inhuman  method 
was  generally  resorted  to,  in  order  to  loosen  the  wool  so  that 
it  might  be  torn  from  the  sheep  nearly  in  one  bulk.  For  this 
purpose  the  poor  creatures  were  confined  for  several  days 
without  food,  or  until  they  were  in  a  state  of  great  debility, 

*  The  account  of  the  posterity  of  Cain,  advances  the  history  of  the  sheep 
another  and  an  important  step.  We  read  that  "Adah,  the  wife  of  Lamech," 
one  of  the  descendants  of  Cain,  "bare  Jubal;  he  was  the  father  of  such  as 
dwell  in  tents  and  have  cattle" — or  as  it  should  have  been  rendered,  "with 
cattle."  The  reader  will  observe  here  the  use,  for  the  first  time,  of  the  word 
cattle,  which  so  frequently  occurs  in  the  after  history  of  the  Patriarchs.  It  is 
pleasing  to  connect  with  a  descendant  of  Cain — Cain  the  fratricide — and  as  a 
proof  that  the  curse  did  not  rest  forever  upon  his  offspring,  the  first  mention 
of  the  domestication  of  other  animals,  almost  as  much  connected  as  the  sheep 
with  the  subsistence  and  comfort  of  man. — History  of  the  Sheep. 

t  Gen.  iv.  2,  4 


360  PwEARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

and  the  fibres  of  the  wool,  sharing  in  the  general  weakness  and 
derangement,  was  the  more  readily  detached  from  the  skin.* 

Some  authors  have  imagined  that  the  production  of  wool 
was  confined  exclusively  to  sheep;  but  practical  men,  however, 
know  that  there  is  a  large  class  of  animals  on  whom,  at  some 
season  of  the  year  at  least,  wool  is  found.  The  under  hair  of 
some  goats,  is  not  only  finer  than  the  fleece  of  some  goats, 
but  has  the  crisped  appearance  of  wool — it  is  in  fact  wool,  but 
of  different  qualities  in  difierent  breeds.  On  many  species  of 
the  deer  (undomesticated)  wool  is  found  at  the  roots  of  the  hair. 
Fine  and  valuable  wool  is  produced  on  the  yak  (ox)  of  Tar- 
tary  and  the  musk-ox.  A  species  of  animal  between  the 
antelope  and  the  ox,  the  gnoo,  has  mixed  with,  and  filling  up 
the  interstices  between  the  hair,  a  considerable  quantity  of 
wool.  The  camel  has  wool  at  the  base  of  its  long  hair.  The 
hare,  the  rabbit,  the  beaver,  and  many  other  fur  clad  animals 
bear  upon  them  a  variable  quantity  of  wool. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  external  coat  of  the  first  sheep 
lu as  probably  hair,  and  that  it  has  been  brought  to  its  present 
state  or  condition  by  change  of  climate,  careful  and  attentive 
culture,  the  kind  and  quantity  of  nutriment,  and  other  circum- 
stances. This  seems  to  be  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Anderson,  Sir 
Joseph  Banks,  and  Mr.  Flint.  If  they  are  correct — and  we 
see  no  good  and  sufficient  reason  to  doubt — the  change  from  hair 
to  wool  must  have  been  gradual.  The  selection  of  those  ani- 
mals for  breeding,  which  yielded  the  finest  wool  in  the  greatest 
quantity,  was  no  doubt  an  object  of  moment  to  the  early  shep- 
herds— an  adherence  to  this,  would,  in  the  course  of  time,  have 
produced  a  breed  bearing  wool  only. 

The  Yolk.  The  filament  of  the  wool  has  scarcely  pushed  itself  through 
the  pore  of  the  skin,  than  it  has  to  penetrate  another  and  singular  substance, 
Avhich,  from  its  adhesiveness  and  colour  is  called  the  yolk;  it  abounds  about 
the  breast  and  shoulders,  the  very  parts  that  produce  the  best  and  most  abun- 
dant wool — and  in  proportion  as  it  extends,  in  any  degree  over  other  parts, 
the  wool  is  there  improved.  The  quantity  varies  in  the  different  breeds — the 
southern  sheep  have  a  sufficiency  of  it  both  for  the  production  of  wool,  and  to 
guard  them  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  It  is  more  abundant  on  the 
true  merino  than  any  other  breed.  Where  there  is  a  deficiency  of  yolk,  the 
fibre  of  the  wool  is  dry  and  harsh,  and  weak,  and  the  w^hole  fleece  becomes 
thin  and  hairy.  Where  the  natural  quantity  of  it  is  found,  the  wool  is  soft 
and  oily,  and  plentiful  and  strong.  In  northern  districts  where  the  cold  is  in- 
tense, and  the  yolk  of  wool  is  deficient  to  shield  them  from  the  weather,  a  sub- 
stitute for  it  is  sought  by  smearing  the  sheep  with  a  mixture  of  tar  and  oil,  or 
butter,  eleven  parts  of  oil  or  butter  to  one  of  tar. — Sheep  Husbandry,  p.  60.t 

*  History  of  the  Sheep,  Farmer's  Series,  p.  C4. 

t  This  process  of  smearing  will  answer  to  some  extent  where  the  cliinate  is 
dry;  but  where  it  is  moist,  and  the  rains  are  frequent  and  heavy,  it  will  not 
answer,  and  should  never  be  attempted.  A  gentleman  of  great  respectability, 
whose  flock  of  sheep  numbered  more  than  seven  thousand,  informed  the  Edi- 
tor of  this  work,  that  he  tried  the  experiment  on  about  one  thousand  of  his 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS,  35I 

A  celebrated  French  chemist,  M.  Vauquelin,  from  a  vast  variety  of  experi- 
ments on  the  composition  of  the  )'olk  of  wool,  arrived  at  the  following  results. 
It  is  composed — 1.  Of  a  soapy  matter  wiih  a  basis  of  potash,  which  formed  the 
greater  part  of  it.  2.  A  small  quantity  of  the  carbonate  of  potash.  3.  A  per- 
ceptible quantity  of  the  acetate  of  potash.  4.  Lime,  whose  state  of  combina- 
tion he  was  unacquainted  with.  5.  An  atom  of  the  muriate  of  potash.  6.  An 
animal  oil,  to  which  he  attributed  the  peculiar  odour  of  the  yolk — and,  in  con- 
clusion, he  was  of  opinion,  that  all  these  materials  (in  their  several  propor- 
tions) were  essential  to  the  yolk,  and  not  found  in  it  by  accident,  for  he  analysed 
the  yolk  in  a  great  number  of  samples,  as  well  Spanish  as  French,  and 
found  them  in  all. — Annates  de  Chimle,  A?i.  xi.  No.  141.  The  yolk  being  a  true 
soap,  soluble  in  ^vater,  it  is  easy  to  account  for  the  comparative  facility  with 
which  sheep  that  have  the  natural  proportion  of  it  are  washed  in  a  running 
stream.  But  there  is,  however,  a  small  quantity  of  fatty  matter  in  the  fleece, 
which  is  not  in  combination  with  the  alkali,  and  which,  remaining  attached 
to  the  wool,  keeps  it  a  little  glutinous  notwithstanding  the  most  careful  wash- 
ings.— Luccockon  Wool. 

The  fibre  of  wool  is  of  a  circular  form,  varying  in  diameter 
in  different  breeds  and  in  different  parts  of  the  fleece  of  the 
same  animal.  It  is  generally  larger  towards  the  extremities.  It 
presents  this  appearance  after  having  penetrated  the  skin  and 
yolk.  Bake  WELL  says  that  the  filaments  of  white  wool,  when 
cleansed  from  grease,  are  semi-transparent,  their  surface  in 
some  places  being  beautifully  polished,  in  others  beautifully 
encrusted^  and  they  reflect  the  rays  of  light  in  a  very  pleasing 
manner.  When  the  animal  is  in  good  condition,  and  of  course 
yielding  a  healthy  fleece,  the  appearance  of  the  fibre,  when 
viewed  by  the  aid  of  a  powerful  microscope,  is  really  brilliant; 
while  from  the  wool  from  sheep  of  ill  condition,  or  half  fed,  a 
wan,  pale,  sickly  light  is  reflected.  Mr.  Livingston,  of  New 
York,  has  made  the  same  or  similar  observations  in  regard  to 
wool.  Mr.  YouATT,  in  his  History  of  Sheep,  says  that  Mr. 
LuccocK  speaks  of  some  breeds  in  which  the  pile  is  flat  and 
smooth,  like  a  small  bar  of  finely  polished  steel. 

The  properties  of  loool  are  various — the  most  important  are 
fineness  of  pile — purity — proper  length  of  staple — elasticity — 
colour.  "The  property  which  first  attracts  attention,  and 
which  is  of  greater  importance  than  any  other,  is  W\q.  fineness 
of  the  pile,  the  quantity  of  fine  wool  which  a  fleece  yields, 
and  the  degree  of  that  fineness.     Absolute  fineness  varies  to 

sheep;  the  weather  immediately  following  was  wet;  and  out  of  the  thousand 
so  treated,  he  lost  more  than  seven  hundred,  with  what  he  termed  the  skin-rut. 
He  said  the  application,  so  far  as  he  was  capable  of  forming  a  judgment,  ar- 
rested the  naktral  perspiration  of  the  animal,  which  being  once  checked  could 
not  be  restored,  and  the  poor  sheep  died  in  the  greatest  agony.  The  remain- 
der of  his  flock  continued  in  good  health — the  disease,  if  such  it  can  be  called, 
was  not  contagious.  We  should  suppose  that  the  free  application  of  this  mix- 
ture would  have  a  tendency  to  impair  the  quality  of  the  wool,  and  consequent- 
ly to  reduce  its  value  in  the  market.  Professor  Low,  however,  recommends 
this  smearing  of  sheep  before  winter  in  very  elevated  or  cold  countries.  He 
advises  the  butter  to  be  boiled,  and  a  little  milk  mixed  with  it;  six  pounds  of 
butter  to  one  of  tar,  thus  prepared,  will  be  sufficient  for  twenty  sheep. 


362  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

such  an  extent,  even  in  the  same  fleece,  that  of  it  nothing  can 
be  said."*  The  fineness  of  the  wool  differs  greatly  on  differ- 
ent sheep,  and  equally  on  different  parts  of  the  same  sheep. 
The  wool  on  the  side  of  the  neck  and  covering  the  shoulders, 
the  ribs  and  the  back,  is  considered  the  finest.  The  next 
covers  the  superior  parts  of  the  legs  and  the  thighs,  and  ex- 
tends up  to  nearly  the  haunch  and  the  tail — and  a  still  inferior 
portion  runs  along  the  upper  part  of  the  neck,  the  throat,  the 
breast,  the  belly  and  the  lower  part  of  the  legs.f  Tempera- 
ture and  other  causes  affect  in  an  especial  manner  the  fineness 
of  the  pile — pasture,  and  the  general  feed  and  management  of 
sheep,  exert  a  far  greater  influence  on  the  fineness  and  the 
quality  of  the  wool  than  any  thing  else.  J  The  more  equal  in 
quality  the  wool  is  on  all  parts  of  the  body,  the  greater  is  the 
value  of  the  animal  that  carries  it. 

Connected  with  fineness  is  tinieness  of  staple — as  equal  a 
growth  as  possible  over  the  animal — a  freedom  from  shaggy 
portions,  here  and  there,  which  are  occasionally  observed  on 
poor  and  half-kept  sheep.  Allied  to  trueness  of  fibre  is  a  free- 
dom from  coarse  hairs  which  project  above  the  general  level 
of  the  fleece  in  various  parts.  The  term  also  implies  a  free- 
dom from  those  irregularities  in  bulk  of  the  fibres  of  the  wool, 
which  render  it  difficult  at  times  to  give  it  a  definite  name  or 
character.^ 

Soujidness,  as  connected  intimately  with  trueness,  or  purity 
of  staple,  means  strength  of  the  fibre  generally.  This  is  an 
important  property,  and  is  considered  indispensable  in  long 
wool.  The  fleece  deteriorates  in  consequence  of  age;  the  wool 
is  also  liable  to  injury  by  felting,  while  remaining  on  the  back 
of  the  animal;  which  is  the  case  with  heavy  breed,  but  more 
especially  those  that  are  only  half  kept.  Mr.  Parkinson  notes 
two  diseases  of  wool;  if  they  really  exist  they  should  be  term- 
ed defects.  That  which  sets  thinly  on  the  pelt,  he  terms 
feathery — and  the  other  defect  watery  wool.  "It  is  so  full  of 
grease  it  looks  damp." 

Softness  of  pile  is  a  most  desirable  quality  in  wool.  Wool 
is  necessarily  subject  to  numerous  manipulations,  and  the  judi- 
cious manufacturer  invariably  gives  the  preference  to  that 
which  is  soft,  pliable,  and  elastic.  In  the  opinion  of  the  best 
judges  the  pile  cannot  be  too  soft  and  silky,  provided  the 
strength  thereof  is  not  impaired;  and  it  is  stated  in  the  Far- 

*  LuccocK,  pp.  178,  179.  +  Sheep  Husbandry,  p.  66. 

t  The  wool  of  sickly  or  murrain  sheep  is  generally  not  only  finer  than  in  a 
healthy  sheep  of  the  same  breeil,  but  it  possesses  this  tender  quality  not  to  be 
detected  by  the  eye,  nor  even  by  the  micro.scope — unless  that  it  may  be  suspect- 
ed by  a  slight  degree  of  polish,  and  not  having  so  round  and  full  or  plump  ap- 
pearance.— Parkinson  on  Live-Stock.  §  Ibid. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  3^3 

mers'  Series  of  Useful  Knowledge  that  two  packs  of  sorted 
wool  being  taken,  possessing  the  same  degree  of  fineness,  but 
the  one  having  the  soft  quality  in  an  eminent  degree,  and  the 
other  being  harsh,  the  cloth  prepared  from  the  first,  at  the  same 
expense,  will  be  worth  more  to  the  manufacturer  than  the  other 
by  full  twenty-five  per  cent.  The  cause  of  this  peculiar  soft- 
ness of  pile,  and  the  proper  means  by  which  it  may  be  increas- 
ed, are  not  fully  known;  but  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  quality  of  softness  is  dependant,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the 
fineness  of  the  fibre;  the  yolk,  therefore,  as  it  gives  richness 
and  pliability,  as  well  as  nourishment,  to  the  wool,  exerts  some 
influence  in  promoting  the  softness  of  the  pile.  Every  farmer 
who  has  a  flock  of  sheep  should  pay  special  attention  to  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  that  cardinal  point  in  sheep,  the  yolk. 
Bad  management,  or  poor  keep,  by  arresting  the  secretion  of 
the  yolk,  or  changing  its  properties,  will,  in  a  very  great  de- 
gree, impair  the  pliability  of  the  woolly  fibre. 

The  colour  of  wool  is  of  minor,  and  yet  of  no  trifling  im- 
portance, according  to  Youatt,  who  says  that  the  alteration  of 
the  colour  was  the  first  recorded  improvement  in  the  sheep — 
and  its  purity,  its  perfect  whiteness,  should  never  be  lost  sight 
of  in  the  present  day.  It  must,  however,  be  confessed  that 
the  breeder  is  not,  in  every  respect,  as  careful  as  he  ought  to 
be.  The  fleece  sometimes  partakes  of  the  colour  of  the  soil — 
that  is,  to  a  certain  extent — on  which  the  sheep  is  reared; 
which  is  effected  by  particles  of  the  soil  mixing  with  the  fleece 
and  gradually  staining  it  of  their  own  colour.  All  attempts 
to  give  colour,  according  to  fancy,  by  the  use  of  ochre  or  other 
matter  is  highly  absurd. 


IV.    DIFFERENT  VARIETIES  OR  BREEDS  OF  SHEEP. 

The  United  States,  from  its  great  diversity  of  soil,  surface, 
and  climate,  possesses  advantages  for  the  successful  prosecution 
of  sheep  husbandry,  unsurpassed,  if  equalled,  by  any  other 
country.  Many  sections  of  the  country  are  undulating — the 
hills  mostly  covered  with  fine  herbage — enclosures  extensive 
and  unequalled — almost  every  pasture  furnished  with  running 
\vater,  and  sheltered  more  or  less  by  trees  from  the  summer 
sun,  with  other  very  great  and  important  advantages,  render 
the  United  States,  and  even  some  portions  of  Canada,  highly 
favourable  to  the  most  prosperous  culture  of  sheep.  The  wool 
produced  in  this  country — that  is,  the  best,  and  which  has  the 
management  throughout  of  competent  persons,  possesses  every 


364  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

good  quality,  especially  of  fineness  of  texture,  goodness  of  sta- 
ple, and  softness.  Some  attention  was  devoted  to  sheep  hus- 
bandry and  the  improvement  of  wool  in  this  country  for  a  few 
years  preceding  the  revolutionary  war;  at  that  time  the  finest 
wool  was  obtained  in  New  Jersey,  which,  according  to  an  ac- 
count laid  before  Parliament,  contained  one  hundred  and  forty- 
three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty-nine  sheep;  a  much 
larger  number  than  was  found  in  either  of  the  other  colonies. 
The  same  report  which  states  the  number  of  sheep,  adds  that 
specimens  of  wool  from  all  the  Provinces  of  North  America 
having  been  submitted  to  the  wool  staplers  and  connoisseurs 
of  the  article,  there  was  but  one  opinion,  namely,  that  the  tex- 
ture or  fineness  of  the  wool  from  New  Jersey,  was  not  only 
superior  to  that  from  the  other  provinces,  but  much  superior, 
in  almost  every  point  of  excellence,  to  that  raised  in  Great 
Britain.  The  specimen  from  Long  Island,  New  York,  ranked 
next  to  the  Jersey.  The  reader  will,  however,  bear  in  mind, 
that  since  the  period  here  referred  to,  very  great  and  astonish- 
ing improvements  were  made  in  this  branch  of  husbandry  in 
Great  Britain,  while  in  this  country  the  reverse  was  the  case, 
and  little  or  no  attention  was  paid  to  the  improvement  of  the 
various  breeds  until  within  a  few  j'ears  past.  The  reasons  for 
this,  and  the  efiects  produced,  are  too  well  known  to  require 
further  notice. 

There  are  a  great  variety  of  breeds  of  sheep,  all  probably 
derived  from  one  parent  stock;  each  possessing  some  peculiar 
quality  by  which  it  is  distinguished  from  all  others:  to  de- 
scribe them  all,  with  any  show  of  justice,  would  require  a 
volume  of  no  small  dimensions.  In  Great  Britain,  where  the 
greatest  improvements  have  been  realized  in  the  culture  of  this 
animal,  they  are  divided  into  two  classes,  by  most  authors,  the 
long-ivooled  and  the  short-wooled.  Mr.  Low,  and  others 
equally  eminent,  divide  them  into  two  classes  also,  namely, 
the  sheep  of  the  mountains,  lower  moors,  and  downs,  and  the 
sheep  of  the  plains.  The  sheep  of  the  first  class  have  some- 
times horns,  and  sometimes  want  horns.  The  finest  of  them, 
the  South-down  and  Cheviot,  have  no  horns.  One  of  them,  the 
black-faced  breed,  have  coarse  wool;  the  Dartmoor  and  Ex- 
moor  have  long  but  not  coarse  wool;  and  all  the  others  have 
short  wool.     We  can  only  refer  to  the  principal  breeds. 

The  pure  breed  of  the  Shetland  and  Orkney  sheep,  which 
exist  in  the  islands  from  which  they  derive  their  name,  is  of 
the  variety  of  short-tailed  sheep  which  exist  in  Norway,  and 
other  parts  of  the  north  of  Europe.  They  are  a  hardy  race, 
adapted  to  the  exposed  country  in  which  they  are  reared;  but 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


36i 


no  purpose  of  useful  economy  would  be  promoted  by  extend- 
ing them.      Their  coat  is  a  fine  soft  wool,  mixed  with  hair. 

The  JVelsh  breeds  form  several  groups,  of  small  size  and 
peculiar  form,  their  iiinder  extremities  being  long,  by  which 
the}'  are  fitted  for  vaulting  as  well  as  running — wool  short, 
soft,  much  mixed  with  hair,  and  underneath  the  chin  the  hair 
is  usually  so  abundant  as  to  form  a  kind  of  beard.  There  are 
considerable  degrees  of  difference  in  the  several  groups,  arising 
probably  from  difference  of  situation. 

The  black-faced  sheep  are  a  mountain  breed,  small  of  size, 
but  hardy,  bold,  and  active;  they  are  a  horned  variety,  with 
black  faces  and  legs — wool  shaggy  and  coarse,  weighing  from 
three  to  five  pounds  the  fleece.  Tiiey  feed  kindly  in  good 
pastui-es,  and  their  mutton  is  held  in  great  esteem.  It  is  well 
suited  for  a  rugged  country — but  they  loose  their  peculiar 
traits  when  naturalized  in  the  plains. 


The  Cheviot  Ram. 

The  next  in  order  of  the  mountain  breeds  is  the  Cheviot,  so 
termed  from  its  being  reared  in  the  mountains  round  Cheviot, 
whence  it  has  been  very  widely  extended  to  other  elevated 
districts.  These  sheep  are  heavier  than  the  black-faced,  with- 
out horns,  fine  wool,  hardy,  active,  and  well  suited  to  an  ele- 
vated country.  This  breed  presents  somewhat  different  cha- 
racters, according  to  the  nature  of  the  country  where  it  is 
reared,  and  the  views  of  breeders.  They  possess  very  great 
31* 


366  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

fattening  properties,  and  can  endure  much  hardship  botli  from 

starvation   and   cold — and  in   this  respect,   they  are   perhaps 

equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  other  breed. 

The  Lammermuir  farmer,  an  ardent  admirer  of  them,  says,  that  they  are 
hornless:  the  face  and  legs  generally  white;  the  eye  lively  and  prominent;  the 
countenance  open  and  pleasing;  the  ear  large,  and  with  a  long  space  from  the 
ear  to  the  eye;  the  body  long,  and  hence  they  are  called  "long  sheep,"  in  dis- 
tinction frorn  the  black-faced  breed.  They  are  full  behind  the  shoulder,  they 
have  a  long  straight  back,  they  are  round  in  the  rib,  and  well  proportioned  in 
their  quarters;  the  legs  are  clean  and  small-boned,  and  the  pelt  is  thin,  but 
thickly  covered  with  fine  short  wool.  The  wool  extends  over  the  whole  of 
the  body,  and  forward  behind  the  ear,  hut  leaves  the  face  uncovered — a  cir- 
cumstance that  gives  a  very  pleasing  appearance  to  the  face  and  head.  The 
muscle  and  the  wool  fall  well  down  towards  the  knee;  and  although  on  the 
tliigh  the  wool  is  somewhat  coarse,  the  farmer  is  compensated  by  the  abundant 
growth  of  it  on  that  part. 

The  properties  to  be  desired  in  a  mountain  breed  are,  that 
it  shall  be  hardy,  of  good  form,  of  sufficient  size,  and  with  good 
wool.  For  a  combination  of  these  qualities,  the  mountain 
breed  of  the  Cheviots  has  certainly  not  been  surpassed. 

The  South-dowji,  which  has  been  reared  for  centuries  on 
the  chalky  soils  of  Sussex,  have  obtained  a  high  reputation  in 
Europe,  and  also  in  America.  Their  general  diffusion  has 
effected  a  great  and  important  change  on  the  short-vvooled 
breeds.  The  specific  characters  of  this  breed  are — faces  and 
legs  gray — bones  fine — head  clean — neck  long  and  small — low 
before — shoulder  wide — ligiit  in  the  fore-quarter — sides  and 
chest  deep — loin  broad — back-bone  rather  too  high — thigh  full 
and  twist  good — wool  fine,  short,  and  of  good  quality,  and 
ranging  from  three  and  a  half  to  four  pounds  per  fleece  at  two 
years  old.  Their  flesh  is  of  excellent  flavour — they  are  kindly 
feeders,  and  well  adapted  to  an  extensive  range  of  the  lighter 
soils.     They  are  without  horns. 

The  Ryeland  forming  the  early  breed  of  Herefordshire,  is 
early  mentioned  among  the  fine  wooled  sheep  of  Britain.  The}^ 
have  been  so  merged  in  various  crosses,  that  remnants  of  the 
pure  Ryclands  only  remain.  They  are  destitute  of  horns,  of 
small  size,  wool  two  pounds  to  the  fleece,  exceedingly  fine. 
Tiiey  are  excellent  feeders  and  afibrd  superior  mutton. 

The  Norfolk  breed,  indigenous  in  the  counties  of  Norfolk, 
Suffolk,  and  Cambridge,  are  a  powerful  race  of  animals,  with 
horns  and  long  muscular  limbs — of  a  wild,  roving  disposition, 
and  not  easily  confined  except  in  high  and  strong  enclosures. 
Legs  and  faces  entirely  black — wool  short  and  fitted  for  the 
making  of  cloths.  They  have  pretty  generally  given  place  to 
tlie  South-down. 

The  Wiltshire  breed  is  now  almost  extinct  as  a  separate 
variety;  the  favourite  South-down  almost  entirely  usurping  its 
place.     They  were  the  largest  of  the  fine  wooled  sheep,  but  of 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  357 

coarse  form.  Heads  large,  limbs  thick,  and  the  rams  strong 
horns.  Their  fleeces  weighed  about  two  and  a  half  pounds; 
but  their  bellies  were  almost  destitute  of  wool.  Slow  feeders, 
yet  producing  good  mutton. 

The  Dorset  breed,  so  named  from  their  native  country,  have 
small  horns  and  white  faces.  Wool  good,  of  middling  fineness, 
weighing  from  three  to  four  pounds  the  fleece  and  upwards. 
A  class  of  mountain  sheep  to  be  mentioned  consists  of  two  re- 
markable groups,  the  Dartmoor  and  Exmoor,  which  derive 
their  names  from  the  districts  they  inhabit.  These  wild  little 
sheep  are  reared  in  their  native  pastures  of  heath,  and  fattened 
in  the  lower  country;  but  they  are  gradually  disappearing. 

The  races  of  sheep  just  referred  to  may  be  said  to  be  pecu- 
liar to  the  mountains,  lower  moors,  and  chalky  downs.  The 
sheep  of  the  lower  country  or  plains,  are  usually  of  a  larger 
size,  and  more  productive  of  flesh  and  wool,  and  they  are  all 
destitute  of  horns.  The  breeds  of  this  class  to  be  here  referred 
to  are  the  old  Lincoln,  the  Romney-marsh,  the  Devonshire 
Notts,  the  new  Leicester,  and  the  Cotswold. 

The  old  Lincoln  was  the  most  remarkable  of  all  the  Euro- 
pean breeds  for  bearing  an  enormous  fleece  of  long  wool.  But 
few  of  the  ancient  heavy  stock  remain,  nearly  all  having  been 
crossed  by  the  lighter  sheep  of  modern  times.  These  crosses 
are  still  weighty,  and  aflbrd  large  supplies  to  the  London  and 
other  markets,  being  fed  in  large  numbers  on  the  rich  marshes 
of  the  Thames  and  elsewhere.  They  frequently  weigh  from 
fifty  to  sixty  pounds  per  quarter.  The  pelt  is  particularly 
thick,  and  the  fleece  consists  of  very  long  combing  wool,  of  a 
rather  coarse  quality,  but  weighing  generally  from  twelve  to 
fourteen  pounds  on  the  wethers,*  and  from  eight  to  ten  pounds 
on  the  ewes. 

The  Romney-marsh  sheep,  is  the  term  applied  to  a  race  of 
heavy  sheep,  kept  from  time  immemorial  on  Romney-marsli, 
an  extensive  tract  of  land  recovered  from  the  sea  in  a  very  early 
period  of  English  history.  The  sheep  of  this  rich  tract  are 
large,  yielding  a  heavy  fleece  of  long  wool.  They  were  highly 
valued,  and  until  within  a  few  years,  have  undergone  few  or 
no  changes.  They  are  not  generally  esteemed  at  the  present 
day. 

The  Devonshire  polled  sheep  form  two  distinct  varieties  of 

*  Mr.  Cl.ark,  of  Cauwick,  in  1827,  exhibited  two  wether  sheep  in  Lincoln 
market,  the  fleeces  of  M^hich  had  yielded  twent5'-fonr  pounds  of  wool  each. 
They  were  slaughtered — the  carcassof  thelarger  oneweighed  twohundrcdand 
sixty-one  pounds — the  fore-quarters  were  each  of  thera  seventy-three  pounds, 
and  the  hind  quarters  fifty-seven  and  a  half.  On  the  top  of  the  rib  the  solid 
fat  measured  nine  inches'  in  thickness.  The  weight  of  the  smaller  one  was 
two  hundred  and  fifty  -^onViAi.— British  Farmers  Magazine,  May,  ISil. 


368  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

the  same  breed.  1.  The  south  Devon  or  dim-faced-nott,  with 
brown  face  and  legs — crooked  backed — flat-sided — coarsely 
boned  and  wooled — carrying  a  fleece  of  ten  pounds  average 
weight,  and  averaging  twenty-two  pounds  per  quarter  of  good 
mutton,  at  thirty  months  old.  2.  The  Bumpton  Nott,  white 
face  and  legs,  and  in  other  respects  nearly  resembling  the 
former  in  appearance;  will  yield  as  much  mutton  at  twenty  as 
the  other  at  thirty  months,  but  not  equally  productive  of  wool.* 
They  formed  a  clumsy  race  of  thick  skins;  but  they  are  nearly 
extinct  in  their  pure  state,  having  been  almost  universally 
crossed  by  the  new  Leicesters. 

To  these  breeds  might  be  added  others  which  may  be  rather 
said  to  have  once  existed,  than  to  be  now  found.  Such  were 
the  old  Warwickshire,  the  wool  of  which  resembled  that  of 
the  7ieiv  Leicester — the  old  Leicester,  which  is  merged  in  the 
modern  breed,  and  the  old  Teeswater,  which  in  like  manner 
has  had  its  characters  entirely  modified  by  the  efiiects  of  cross- 
ing. These  last  were  a  very  large  race  of  sheep,  arriving  at 
great  weight,  very  prolific  in  lambs,  producing  wool  long  and 
heavy  to  the  fleece.  They  formerly  existed  in  the  greatest 
purity  in  the  district  of  the  Tees. 


Thk  New  Leicester. 
The  new  Leicester,  portrayed  above,  is  frequently  termed 
the  Dishley  breed,  from   having   been  produced   by  Robert 
*  Complete  Grazier,  p.  221. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  359 

Bakevvell,  of  Dishley.  Their  forms  are  handsome — colour 
white.  As  a  lowland  sheep,  and  destined  to  live  on  good  pas- 
ture, the  new  Leicester  is  without  a  rival — in  fact  he  has  im- 
proved, if  he  has  not  given  the  principal  value  to,  all  the  other 
long-wooled  sheep.  The  head  should  be  hornless,  long,  small, 
tapering  towards  the  muzzle,  and  projecting  horizontally  for- 
.wards.  The  eyes  prominent,  but  with  a  quiet  expression. 
The  ears  thin,  rather  long,  and  directed  backwards.  The  neck 
full  and  broad  at  its  base  where  it  proceeds  from  the  chest,  but 
gradually  tapering  towards  the  head,  and  being  particularly 
fine  at  the  junction  of  the  head  and  neck;  the  neck  seeming  to 
project  straight  from  the  chest,  so  that  there  is,  with  the 
slightest  possible  deviation,  one  continued  horizontal  line  from 
the  rump  to  the  poll.  The  breast  broad  and  full;  the  shoul- 
ders also  broad  and  round,  and  no  uneven  or  angular  formation 
where  the  shoulders  join  either  the  neck  or  the  back,  particu- 
larly no  rising  of  the  withers,  or  hollow  behind  the 'situation 
of  these  bones.  The  arm  fleshy  through  its  whole  extent,  and 
even  down  to  the  knee.  The  bones  of  the  legs  small,  standing 
wide  apart,  no  looseness  of  skin  about  them,  and  comparatively 
bare  of  wool.  The  chest  and  barrel  at  once  deep  and  round; 
the  ribs  forming  a  considerable  arch  from  the  spine,  so  as  in 
some  cases,  and  especially  when  the  animal  is  in  good  condi- 
tion, to  make  the  apparent  width  of  the  chest  even  greater 
than  the  depth.  The  barrel  ribbed  well  home,  no  irregularity 
of  line  on  the  back  or  the  belly,  but,  on  the  sides,  the  carcass 
very  gradually  diminishing  in  width  towards  the  rump.  The 
quarters  long  and  full,  and,  as  with  the  fore-legs,  the  muscles 
extending  down  to  the  hock;  the  thighs  also  wide  and  full. 
The  legs  of  a  moderate  length,  the  pelt  also  moderately  thin, 
but  soft  and  elastic,  and  covered  with  a  good  quantity  of  white 
wool,  not  so  long  as  in  some  breeds,  but  considerably  finer. 

This  account  combines  the  main  excellences  both  of  Bake- 
well's  own  breed,  and  Culley's  variety  or  improvement  of 
it.  It  is  precisely  the  form  for  a  sheep  provided  with  plenty 
of  good  food  and  without  any  great  distance  to  travel  or  exer- 
tion to  make  in  gathering  it. 

The  principal  recommendations  of  this  breed  are  its  beauty 
and  its  fulness  of  form,  comprising,  in  the  same  apparent  dimen- 
sions, greater  weight  than  any  other  sheep;  an  early  maturity, 
and  a  propensity  to  fatten  equalled  by  no  other  breed;  a  dimi- 
nution in  the  proportion  of  ofial,  and  the  return  of  most  money 
for  the  quantity  of  food  consumed. 

The  Colswold  sheep,  although  the  inhabitants  of  low  hills, 
must  be  classed  with  the  sheep  of  the  plains.  They  are  of 
massy  form,  and  bear  long  wool.     They  are  not  as  perfect  in 


370  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

form  as  the  new  Leicester,  but  their  hardiness,  prolificness 
and  size,  give  them  a  place  among  the  superior  breeds. 

The  indigenous  race  of  Fi- a  nee  has  astonishingly  improved. 
They  consist  of  several  varieties — the  Roussillonne — the  Beri- 
chonne — the  Ardennaize — the  Beaiicen^onne—ihe  No7'i7iande, 
&c.  The  principal  race  now  cultivated  is  the  Spanish-French 
merino,  of  which  there  are  many  millions. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  sheep  cultivated  in  the  United 
States.  The  native  breeds  are  merged  almost  entirely  by 
crosses  with  the  best  foreign  improved  varieties  which  have 
been  imported  into  the  country.  Dr.  E.  Holmes,  in  his  re- 
port to  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Kennebec,*  enumerates 
eight  different  breeds  of  sheep  cultivated  in  the  United  States, 
viz:  the  native  breed,  the  Otter,  the  Merino,  the  Texel,  the 
Dishley  or  New  Leicester,  the  Caramanian,  the  South-Down, 
the  Frederick,  and  several  other  varieties;  but  those  above 
mentioned  embrace  all  worthy  the  notice  of  the  farmer. 

The  native  breed  of  sheep,  of  the  middle  and  southern  states, 
was  derived  from  very  early  importations  from  the  mother  coun- 
try into  the  colony  of  Virginia.!  They  were  subsequently 
introduced  into  all  the  colonies  from  England;  but  the  best 
race,  at  that  period,  would  now,  in  all  probability,  be  consider- 
ed as  a  very  inferior  breed.  The  first  record,  according  to 
Dr.  Holmes,  of  the  introduction  of  sheep  into  New  England, 
is  the  importation  by  Edward  Winslow,  in  the  years  1624 
and  1629,  of  "one  hundred  and  forty  head  of  cattle,  some 
horses,  sheep  and  goats  into  JNIassachusetts  bay.  A  genuine 
native  American  sheep  is  rarely  found  in  these  days,  so  com- 
pletely have  they  been  merged  in  other  and  better  varieties. 
Indeed  we  have  no  recorded  description  of  the  peculiar  points 
by  which  they  were  distinguished.:]: 

The  Otter  breed,  so  called  on  account  of  the  length  of  their 
bodies  and  the  shortness  of  their  legs,  is  a  singular   native 

*  "The  Northern  Shepherd,  being  a  Report  of  a  Committee  of  the  Kennebec 
County  Agricultural  Society  of  the  State  of  Maine,  upon  the  Diseases  and 
Management  of  Sheep" — an  excellent  little  work,  of  132  pages,  suitable  for 
the  pocket. 

T  There  is  in  fact  no  native  American  sheep  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  terra. 
The  only  animal  of  the  genus  oris,  indigenous  to  this  continent,  with  which 
we  are  yet  acquainted,  is  the  Ar^ali  or  Big  Horn  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — 
familiarly  known  as  the  sheep  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  respecting  which  the 
most  exaggerated  and  unreasonable  reports  have  been  circulated.  This  ani- 
mal bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  Asiatic  Argali,  deemed  by  some  authors 
and  learned  naturalists,  but  erroneously  we  think,  as  the  parent  of  all  the 
varieties  of  the  domestic  sheep. 

t  We  cannot  refrain  from  repeating  in  this  place,  a  remark  previously 
made,  that  every  farmer  ought  to  select  the  best  of  his  sheep  for  breeders — 
nam?  them,  and  correctly  note  their  ages,  pedigrees,  &c.  in  a  book  to  be  kept 
in  the  family  for  that  especial  purpose. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  372 

variet}',  formerly  somewhat  numerous  in  New  England,  and 
more  especially  in  Massachusetts.  They  are  a  remarkably 
quiet  race;  wool  of  medium  fineness  and  length.  Dr.  Dwight, 
in  the  third  volume  of  his  travels,  gives  a  somewhat  flattering 
account  of  the  breed.  He  says  they  originated  in  the  town  of 
Mendon.  A  ewe,  belonging  to  one  of  the  farmers,  had  twins, 
with  a  marked  difference  in  their  structure  from  other  sheep; 
the  fore  legs  were  short  and  inclined  inward;  barrel  thick, 
round,  but  apparently  clumsy;  remarkably  gentle,  and  not  dis- 
posed to  wander  or  stray  away.  Being  of  different  sexes,  the 
proprietor  was  induced  to  attempt  a  breed  of  the  same  kind,  in 
which  he  was  successful;  the  progeny  having  all  the  peculiar 
points  of  the  parents  even  when  crossed;  and  at  the  time  of 
the  Doctor's  visit,  they  had  multiplied  to  many  thousands,  and 
have  exhibited  no  material  variation.  For  some  reason  or 
other,  never  yet  satisfactorily  ascertained,  the  breed  has  be- 
come almost  entirely  extinct. 

The  oris;in  of  the  Smith  Island  sheep  is  not  accurately 
known.  Mr.  Custis,  of  Arlington,  to  whom  the  island  be- 
longed formerly,  if  it  does  not  at  present,  says  that  they  are 
the  descendants  of  some  English  sheep  placed  upon  it  many 
years  since,  and  improved  by  the  hand  of  nature.  Previous 
to  the  late  v/ar  with  Great  Britain,  the  stock  on  the  island  con- 
sisted of  six  hundred  sheep  and  two  hundred  cattle;  but  the 
occupation  of  the  island  by  the  naval  forces  of  the  enemy,  led 
to  the  almost  entire  extinction  of  both  sheep  and  cattle;  since 
which  period  they  have  recruited  very  slowly;  and  no  special 
pains  has  been  taken  for  their  improvement.  They  are  per- 
fectly wild. 

The  Frederick  breed  is  a  valuable  variety,  whose  good  pro- 
perties largely  increased  under  the  judicious  management  and 
fostering  care  of  the  late  R.  K.  Mead,  Esq.,  of  Frederick 
county,  Virginia.  They  are  said  to  be  "a  cross  of  the  merino 
upon  the  long-wooled  Arlington  breed,  introduced  and  cul- 
tivated at  Mount  Vernon  by  the  venerated  Washington. 
In  the  year  18.31,  Mr.  Mead  was  drawn  out  in  a  communi- 
cation to  the  public,  in  order  to  correct  an  error  of  the  press, 
it  having  been  stated  that  his  flock  of  the  Frederick  breed  had 
yielded  an  average  of  ten  and  a  half  pounds  the  fleece.  He 
informs  the  public  that  they  were  picked  sheep,  twenty-eight 
in  number,  his  whole  flock  amounting  to  one  hundred  and 
thirty.  Of  the  entire  flock  the  average  yield  was  eight  pounds 
and  a  half,  the  heaviest  fleece  weighing  sixteen  and  a  half — the 
weight  of  the  lightest  not  given.  At  the  last  shearing  his  flock 
had  increased  to  over  onehundred  and  sixty;  but  in  consequence 
of  the  severity  of  the  winter,  later  lambs,  and  more  of  them 


372  REARma  and  feeding  op  animals. 

with  the  improved  fineness  of  the  wool,  the  average  was  seven 
and  a  half  pounds,  sold  for  forty-five  cents  per  pound.  We 
are  informed  that  several  gentlemen  are  in  possession  of  flocks 
of  this  breed,  among  whom  are  P.  Mead,  Thomas  Nelson, 
and  George  Bunville,  of  Clark  county,  Virginia. 

We  presume  that  the  Texel  breed  reared  in  jMaine  is  from 
a  foreign  variety.  We  learn  that  they  were  introduced  into 
Maine  by  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Fillebrown,  who  pro- 
cured them  of  Col.  Jaques,  of  Charlestown,  Mass.  Here  our 
information  respecting  them  terminates.  They  were  probably 
in  the  first  instance  brought  over  by  some  one  of  our  naval 
otficers,  many  of  whom  have  manifested  the  most  laudable  and 
praiseworthy  spirit  in  introducing  into  their  native  country 
superior  animals  of  pure  blood,  and  of  all  kinds.  The  true 
Texel  is  a  descendant  of  a  native  sheep,  found  many  years 
since  on  the  slave  coast  in  Guinea.  Early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  a  few  of  these  sheep  were  introduced  into  the  islands 
near  the  Texel,  and  called  the  Mouton  Flandrin  or  Texel 
sheep.  They  are,  at  this  day,  justly  celebrated  for  their  size, 
beauty  of  form,  and  abundant  produce  of  long  and  fine  wool, 
milk  and  lambs.* 

The  Tunis  sheep  w^ere  imported  into  Pennsylvania  many 
years  since,  from  the  mountains  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tunis, 
by  the  late  excellent  Judge  Peters.  They  were  hornless, 
and  their  bones  were  small.  A  ewe  that  was  killed  fat, 
weighed  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  pounds.  The  fat  was 
laid  on  the  profitable  points,  and  mingled  with  the  flesh,  which 
was  marbled  in  a  striking  degree.  The  mutton  was  acknow- 
ledged  to  be  the  finest  and  the  best  in  the  market  at  that  time; 
and  the  tail,  which  weighed  from  six  to  eight  pounds,  was, 
when  dressed,  according  to  the  opinion  of  the  Judge,  a  feast 
for  an  epicure.!  These  sheep  w^ere  well  set  with  wool,  their 
fleeces  weighing  from  five  to  five  and  a  half  pounds,  of  fair 
quality.  But  at  that  period  sheep  husbandry  was  not  regard- 
ed in  a  national  light,  except  by  a  few  sagacious  and  fore- 
sighted  individuals.  A  general  apathy  prevailed  throughout 
our  country — little  attention  was  paid  to  the  manufacturing 
interest;  but  the  war  of  1S12  opened  the  eyes  of  the  nation, 
and  had  that  effect  which  the  embargo  should  have  produced. 
They  are  extensively  and  profitably  crossed  with  the  native 
breeds  of  Philadelphia,  Delaware  and  Lancaster  counties. 

A  prejudice,  as  strong  as  it  was  unjust,  was  excited  towards 
the  close  of  the  last  century  against  the  use  of  mutton  as  meat. 
For  some  reason,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  still  unknown,  this 

*  Sheep  Husbandry,  p.  121. 

t  Transactions  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  373 

outrageous  prejudice,  so  inimical  to  the  interests  of  the  nation 
and  the  health  of  individuals,  was  carefully  cherished  by  many 
of  the  intelligent  men  of  the  times,  and  the  result  was,  that  it 
was  almost  wholly  rejected  as  an  article  of  food.  The  farmer, 
therefore,  could  derive  little  or  nothing  from  the  carcass  of  the 
animal;  the  natural  consequence  was  that  sheep  husbandry  fell 
into  almost  total  neglect.  The  illustrious  Washington,  having 
received  from  various  parts  of  the  world,  various  specimens  of 
farm  stock,  of  pure  blood  and  superior  excellence,  set  himself 
about  correcting  this  great  national  evil,  as  he  justly  regarded 
it.  He  therefore  paid  especial  attention  to  the  culture  of  sheep, 
the  improvement  of  the  breed,  &c.,  and  in  a  short  period  the 
hospitable  board  of  Mount  Vernon  was  renowned  for  the 
peculiar  excellence  of  its  mutton,  rivalling  in  richness,  sweet- 
ness and  delicacy  of  flavour  the  best  and  most  extolled  of 
foreign  lands.  But,  in  the  midst  of  his  career  of  usefulness, 
when  his  powerful  example  as  an  enlightened  and  successful 
cultivator  of  the  soil,  and  an  ardent  advocate  for  the  improve- 
ment of  live-stock  of  all  descriptions,  was  beginning  to  diff'use 
itself  among  the  people,  who  regarded  him  as  the  "father  of  his 
country,"  he  was  removed  by  the  hand  of  death,  and  a  whole 
nation  left  to  mourn. 

The  Arlington  long-icooled  sheep,  a  favourite  breed  in 
Virginia,  originally  bred  by  Washington,  and  afterwards  very 
essentially  improved,  in  some  important  and  essential  points, 
by  Mr.  Custis,  was  descended  from  a  noble  full-blooded 
Persian  ram  and  some  ewes  of  the  improved  Bakewell  flock. 
They  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  improved  Leicesters. 
The  staple  of  their  wool  is  occasionally  fourteen  inches  long, 
soft,  silky,  white,  well  calculated  for  fine  woollen  fabrics. 

The  Camlet-wooled  or  Carnmanian  sheep,  a  singular  va- 
riety, and  which  at  the  time  excited  no  little  curiosity,  was  in- 
troduced into  this  country  in  1835,  by  Capt.  Gerry,  of 
New  York.  This  animal  was  taken  from  on  board  a  Turkish 
ship,  captured  by  the  Greek  Admiral  Tombazo,  who  very 
politely  presented  it  together  with  a  female  to  Capt.  Gerry; 
the  female  unfortunately  died  on  the  passage.  From  all  the 
information  the  Captain  could  obtain,  they  were  from  Cara- 
mania,  a  province  in  Asia  Minor.  The  buck  was  sent  on  the 
arrival  of  the  vessel  at  New  York  to  the  farm  of  William 
Shotwell,  Esq.,  of  Woodbridge,  New  Jersey,  "where,  we 
are  informed,  they  have  been  extensively  propagated.  They 
are  large,  long-legged  sheep — necks  long — heads  horned — 
backs  straight — chest  moderately  wide — wool  very  long,  coarse, 
dry,  wiry,  and  very  strong;  somewhat  similar  to  goat's  hair. 
The  wool  is  said  to  be  particularly  adapted  to  the  manufacture 
32 


374  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

of  camlets.  Their  flesh  is  good.  A  few  of  them  have  been 
reared  in  Maine;  but  it  is  believed  that  the  wool  has  not  been 
manufactured  into  any  thing  but  coarse  fabrics."* 

The  Saxon  sheep  are  a  variety  of  the  merino,  crossed  with 
tlie  best  native  breeds  of  Saxony.  At  the  termination  of  the 
seven  years  war,  (1765,)  Augustus,  Elector  of  Saxony,  sought 
patriotically  to  advance  the  interests  of  his  people,  by  promot- 
ing an  improved  state  of  agriculture,  and  the  extensive  intro- 
duction of  all  kinds  of  improved  farm  stock.  He  introduced 
from  Spain  several  hundreds  of  sheep  of  pure  blood.  It  was 
found  that  the  climate  suited  them,  and  that  the  native  stock 
was  greatly  improved  by  the  cross.  They  have  been  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States  from  Saxony;  and  the  crossing  has 
lengthened  the  staples,  and  increased  the  fineness  of  the  wool 
of  our  breeds,  but  the  quantity  has  diminished;  and  it  is  assert- 
ed by  William  Jarvis,  a  respectable  and  experienced  wool- 
grower  of  Weathersfield,  Vermont,  that  the  crossing  has  not 
only  reduced  very  essentially  the  quantity  of  the  wool  of  our 
flocks,  but  that  it  has  had  a  tendency  to  injure  their  constitu- 
tions. 

Henry  D.  Grove,  Esq.,  of  Buskirk's  Bridge,  (Hoosick, 
Kensellaer  county,  New  York,)  who  is  familiar  with  these 
sheep,  and  understands  the  proper  mode  of  treatment,  has 
cultivated  them  here  to  great  advantage.  His  flock  is  of 
the  pure  breed  of  Saxony,  selected  and  imported  by  himself, 
and  he  maintains  that  they  (the  pure  Saxony  breed)  are  not 
only  adapted  to  this  country,  but  will  prove  in  the  end  the 
most  valuable.  They  are  healthy  and  hardy.  He  says,  ''last 
y^diV  \  raised  one  hundred  and  one  lambs  from  one  hundred 
ewes,  only  one  ewe  having  twins" — of  course  none  of  the 
lambs  died,  which  speaks  well  for  the  breed  or  treatment,  or 
both.  "]My  flock  last  year  of  two  hundred  ewes  and  lambs, 
averaged  two  pounds  six  and  a  half  ounces  the  fleece;  the  ave- 
rage, if  I  had  had  a  fair  proportion  of  wethers,  would  have  been 
three  pounds  the  fleece,  as  my  grown  bucks  sheared  four  and 
a  half  pounds."  Mr.  Grove  says  the  yniitton  of  the  true 
Saxon  is  equal  to  that  of  the  best  South-down.  On  account 
of  its  peculiar  fineness  the  Saxon  wool  brings  a  higher  price 
than  any  other  in  the  market.  The  following  are  the  prices 
of  the  wool  of  the  different  breeds  at  New  York  at  the  periods 
stated:  1835,  Mav — Saxony  SO  cents;  full-blooded  merino 
'30;  native  and  quarter  33;  1838,  Jan.  21 — Saxony  45  to  50 
i^ents;  merino,  full-blood,  35  a  40;  1S39,  Aug.  28 — American 
Saxony  fleece  55  a  60;  full-blooded  merino  50  a  55;  native 
and  quarter  38  a  40.  This  is  an  infallible  test. 
*  '-Northern  Shepherd,"  p.  24. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  375 

The  South-downs,  the  Dishleys  or  new  Leicesters,  and  the 
Merinoes,  are  the  only  breeds  extensively  cultivated  among 
us  at  this  day;  and  as  they  possess  every  necessary  quality  of 
excellence,  it  would  seem  unnecessary  to  extend  the  variety. 
The  characters  of  the  two  first  mentioned  breeds,  are  given  at 
pages  366  and  368.  The  latter  breed,  or  merino,  which  seems 
now  to  be  most  generally  difiused  or  sought  after,  is  here 
noticed  more  at  length. 

The  Merino  or  Spanish  sheep,  the  wide  diffusion  of  which 
in  all  wool-growing  countries  has  effected  a  complete  revolu- 
tion in  the  character  of  the  fleece* — ancient  authors  inform 
us  that  about  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  there  were 
breeds  of  sheep  existing  in  Spain  of  a  variety  of  colours,  white, 
black,  red  and  tawney,  and  that  the  red-wooled  sheep  were 
considered  superior  to  the  others.  Mr.  Youatt  supposes  that 
these  breeds  were  originally  from  Italy.  Columella,  a  colo- 
nist from  Italy,  and  uncle  to  the  writer  of  a  most  excellent 
work  on  agriculture,  resided  at  Baetica,  in  Spain,  during  the 
reign  of  Claudius,  (a.  d.  41;)  he  introduced  to  his  farm  some 
fine  African  rams  and  a  few  of  the  Tarentine  sheep — and  it  is 
altogether  probable  that  his  experiments  laid  the  foundation 
for  a  general  improvement  in  the  Spanish  sheep — an  improve- 
ment which  was  not  lost,  nor  even  materially  impaired,  during 
the  darker  ages  which  succeeded.t  But  Spain,  it  should  be  re- 
membered, possessed  valuable  breeds  of  sheep  previous  to  the 
time  of  Columella;  but  the  great  and  permanent  improve- 
ments that  took  place,  were,  as  before  remarked,  the  unques- 
tionable results  of  his  enlightened  views,  and  judicious  and 
persevering  efforts. 

The  Spanish  sheep  are  divided  into  the  estantes  or  sta- 
tionary, and  the  transhnmantesl  or  migratory.  The  first 
are  those  that  remain  in  flocks  on  a  farm  or  district — the  last 
wander  some  hundred  miles  twice  a  year  in  search  of  food. 
The  stationary  division  consists  of  two  breeds.  The  first  is 
the  Chiinah  breed,  entirely  different  from  the  merino,  larger, 
taller,  heavier,  with  the  head  smaller  and  devoid  of  wool.  The 
wool  is  of  inferior  value;  yet  the  breed  extends  almost  through- 
out the  whole  of  Spain,  and  is  very  numerous  even  where  the 
merinoes  abound,  and  are  found  in  their  greatest  perfection. 
In  the  year  1464,  Edward  IV.,  King  of  England,  sent  as  a 
present  to  John,  King  of  Arragon,  a  score  of  Cotsivold  ewes 
and  four  rams,  which,  it  appears,  were  crossed  with  the 
Chunahs:  and  from  this  circumstance  has  originated  the  ab- 
surd story  that  the  present  excellence  of  the  merinoes  of  Spain 

*  Sheep  Husbandry,  p.  145.  t  Ibid,  164. 

X  From  trans  and  humus,  indicative  of  their  change  of  climate  and  pasture. 


376  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

is  owing  to  the  early  introduction  of  the  English  breed  into 
that  country. 

The  other  principal  breed  of  stationary  sheep  consists  of  the 
true  merinoes,  which  generally  remain  in  the  districts  in  which 
they  are  reared.  The  sheep  of  this  foreign  species — a  wether 
of  which  breed  is  here  delineated — have  horns  of  a  middle  size, 
of  which  the  ewes  are  sometimes  destitute.  Faces  white — legs 
of  the  same  colour,  rather  long,  but  the  bones  fine — defective 
inform — slow  feeders — the  average  weight  per  quarter  of  a 
tolerably  fat  ram  being  about  seventeen  pounds — the  ewes  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  eleven  pounds;  and  the  mutton  is  not  by 
most  persons  as  highly  esteemed  as  that  of  our  other  favourite 
breeds,  whose  peculiar  excellence  consists  in  being  kind 
feeders.*  With  many  first  rate  breeders,  symmetry  of  pro- 
portion constitutes  a  principal  criterion  of  excellence — with 
these  the  merino  breed  is  not  in  high  repute;  although  it 
has  been  most  conclusively  shewn  by  Lord  Somerville  and 
Mr.  Livingston,  that  symmetrical  proportions  are  not  essen- 
tial to  the  production  of  fine  wool.  The  merino  itself  is  a 
living  witness  of  the  fact. 

The  excellence  of  the  merino  consists  in  the  unexampled 
fineness  and  the  peculiar  felting  property  of  their  wool;  and  in 
the  weight  of  it  yielded  by  each  individual,  averaging  from 
three  to  five  pounds,  and  in  Spain  eight  pounds  from  the  ram 
and  five  from  the  ewe.  From  the  closeness  of  their  coat,  and 
the  luxuriance  of  the  yolk,  they  do  not  suffer  much,  if  any, 
more  than  other  breeds  from  the  extremes  of  cold  and  wet. 
They  are  a  patient,  gentle,  quiet  animal,  and  will  amply  re- 
compense the  hand  of  careful  culture,  whether  it  be  extended 
to  them  under  a  burning  tropical  sun  or  in  the  frozen  regions 
of  the  north. 

The  Spanish  merino  breed  was  introduced  into  England  in 
178S,  and  crosses  with  the  Ryeland,  South-down,  and  other 
choice  fine-wooled  breeds  soon  ensued,  George  III.  import- 
ed full-blooded  merino  rams  from  Spain,  and  cultivated  them 
with  great  care;  and  in  the  year  1804  the  sales  of  his  improved 
flocks  attracted  great  attention  to  the  breed.  The  result  of  the 
crosses  with  the  native  breeds,  did  not  fulfil  the  expectations 
formed;  the  experiments  being  too  casually  pursued,  and  too 
hastily  abandoned  to  be  decisive. 

*  Flocks,  however,  of  the  pure  merinoes,  have  been  occasionally  preserved, 
and  the  pro:?eny  of  these  has  remained  superior  to  the  new  or  cross  breeds. 
The  naturalized  merinoes  retain  their  natural  characters,  though  the  wool  he- 
comes  longer  and  heavier  than  in  Spain,  and  the  body  larger.  But  the  entire 
form  of  the  merino  as  a  feeding  animal,  is  bad — he  is  too  small,  and  the  return 
in  mutton  deficient  both  in  quantity  and  v^alue. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.      377 

^  The  pure  Spanish  merinoes  were  first  introduced  into  the 
United  States  by  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  Chancellor 
Livingston  and  others  of  New  York,  and  Col.  Humphrey  of 
Connecticut,  in  the  year  1802.*  The  importations  were  not, 
however,  confined  to  these  public  spirited  individuals;  some 
others,  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  with  a  laudable  zeal  to 
improve  the  quality  and  value  of  their  flocks,  followed  their 
example.  The  importance  of  sheep  husbandry  was  slowly  but 
surely  diffusing  itself  throughout  the  nation,  when  the  eyes  of 
the  people  were  suddenly  opened  by  the  war  of  1812,  which 
effectually  checked  all  commerce  between  the  inhabitants  of 
the  two  belligerent  powers,  namely,  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain;  and  the  want  of  cloths,  cassimeres,  &c.  which 
had  been  supplied  by  England,  was  very  seriously  felt.  The 
value  of  the  sheep— for  that  which  he  should  be  valued— his 
fleece,  was  not  only  justly  appreciated,  but  in  the  case  of  the 
merino,  yielding  a  finer  wool  than  others,  we  passed  from  a 
state  of  apathy  to  the  other  extreme— a  complete  mania  seized 
upon  the  people— the  most  extravagant  and  incredible  prices 
were  paid  for  a  single  full-blooded  ram, t— thousands  entered 
into  the  speculation;  merino  wool  advanced  rapidly  to  two 
dollars  and  a  quarter  per  pound,  but  suddenly  fell  on  the  res- 
toration of  commerce  which  immediately  succeeded  the  decla- 
ration of  peace.  Thousands  were  ruined — the  vvool-o-rowers 
turned  their  attention  to  other  matters,  and  although^for  the 
time  many  flocks  were  shamefully  neglected,  yet  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  breed  on  the  whole  was  permanently  established. 

Improvement  of  breeds.— The  breed  of  sheep  to  be  reared  in  any  case  must  be 
selected  according  to  the  nature  of  the  pastures,  and  the  artificial  means  pos- 
sessed of  supplying  food.  If  a  mountain  breed  is  selected  for  rearing  on  a  low 
arable  farm,  then  the  advantage  is  lost  which  the  farm  possesses  of  producing- 
a  larger  and  finer  class  of  animals.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  lowland  breed  is 
carried  to  a  mountam  farm,  an  error  of  a  difl'erent  kind,  but  yet  more  hurtful, 

*  It  is  stated  in  the  Archives  of  Useful  Knowledge,  Phiia.,  1810,  that  E.  J. 
Dl-pont,  Esq.,  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  was  the  owner  of  the  ^rst  full  blooded 
merino  ram  introduced  into  America,  called  Don  Pedro,  and  imported  in  the 
year  1801.  The  importation  consisted  of  four  fine  young  ram  lambs,  selected 
by  M.  Delessert,  who  had  been  at  the  head  of  a  commission  appointed  by  the 
French  government  to  select  four  thousand  merino  sheep,  which  by  treaty 
the  Spanish  government  had  agreed  to  present  to  France.  Unfortunately 
three  of  the  sheep  died  on  the  passage.  The  ship  arrived  at  Philadelphia  ori 
the  16th  ot  July,  1801,  in  which  year  he  tupped  nine  ewes  near  New  York. 
He  was  then  moved  to  Rosendale  farm,  near  Kingston,  on  the  North  River' 
where,  during  the  years  1802,  3  and  4,  he  served  a  large  flock;  his  progeny 
was  numerous,  and  with  their  sire  sold  at  auction  in  1805,  at  very  low  prices- 
Pedro  himself  being  purchased  by  Mr.  Dupont  for  sixty  dollars,  and  was  re- 
moved to  Wilmington,  where  he  continued  to  serve  from  fifty  to  sixty  ewes 
per  annum,  to  the  benefit  of  the  state. 

t  Such  was  the  intense  interest  excited,  that  sales  were  readily  effected  ' 
varying  from  six  to  nine  hundred  dollars  per  head;  and  in  a  few  instances' 
from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  dollars  were  paid  for  a  single  ram'        ' 
32* 


378  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS. 

is  committed;  for  a  fine  stock  will  be  ruined  if  placed  in  circumstances  where 
it  cannot  be  maintained. 

The  breed,  then,  being  selected  which  is  the  best  suited  to  the  circumstances 
in  which  it  is  to  be  placed,  the  province  of  the  breeder  is  to  breed  from  the  best 
individuals. 

Disposition  to  fatten,  and  early  maturity,  are  the  properties  most  regarded 
in  sheep  to  be  reared  for  food.  But  the  property  of  yielding  good  and  abundant 
"wool  is  not  to  be  disregarded;  and  there  is  another  property  essential  in  the 
reai'ing  of  this  class  of  animals,  namely,  hardiness  and  sound  health  of  indi- 
viduals. 

In  the  case  of  the  sheep  as  of  the  ox,  refinement  in  breeding  may  be  carried 
too  far,  and  with  more  danger.  By  breeding  from  animals  near  of  blood,  the 
same  means  exist  in  the  case  of  the  sheep  as  of  the  ox,  of  giving  that  prematu- 
rity of  age  which  produces  fineness  of  the  bones,  and  a  disposition  to  fatten. 
But  it  is  attended,  too,  with  the  same  effect,  of  rendering  the  animals  more 
delicate,  and  subject  to  diseases.  It  seems  a  violence  done  to  nature,  when 
carried  too  far,  and  the  animals  show  the  eflfects  of  it  by  becoming  too  fine  in 
their  skins,  by  ceasing  to  produce  wool  in  sufficient  quantity,  by  the  females 
ceasing  to  yield  milk,  and  by  the  males  becoming  at  length  unable  to  continue 
their  species. 

Whenever,  then,  the  sheep  of  any  flock  become  too  near  of  blood,  the  breeder 
should  resort  to  the  best  animals  of  another  family,  but  of  the  same  breed,  to 
continue  his  stock.  This  species  of  crossing  is  now  easy,  since  there  is  scarce 
any  of  the  cultivated  breeds  of  which  superior  males  may  not  be  procured  from 
other  flocks.  In  the  case  of  the  New  Leicester,  so  widely  ditfused  and  highly 
improved,  no  necessity  can  exist  for  breeding  from  animals  too  nearly  allied. 

Form. — In  the  sheep,  as  in  other  animals,  certain  external  characters  indi- 
cate a  disposition  to  fatten,  and  at  an  early  age.  Other  characters  indicate  a 
disposition  to  produce  wool,  and  the  quantity  of  wool,  it  has  been  said,  is  not 
to  be  disregarded  in  the  rearing  of  the  sheep.  But  where  the  main  purpose  in 
rearing  the  sheep  is  for  food,  the  province  of  the  breeder  is  to  accomplish  this 
object  with  as  little  sacrifice  as  possible  of  the  secondary  qualities. 

A  property  that  indicates  a  tendency  to  fatten  in  the  sheep  as  in  the  ox,  is  a 
general  rotundity  of  Ibi  m  and  fineness  of  the  bones.  The  chest  should  be  broad, 
the  ribs  well  arched,  and  the  back  and  loins  accordingly  broad,  flat,  and  straight. 
The  sheep,  like  the  ox,  occupies,  independently  of  the  neck  and  head,  nearly  a 
rectangle,  and  the  larger  the  proportion  of  this  rectangle  which  the  body  occu- 
pies, the  more  perfect  is  his  form  as  a  feeding  animal.  His  body,  therefore, 
should  be  large  in  proportion  to  his  limbs,  or,  in  other  words,  his  limbs  should 
be  short  in  proportion  to  his  body;  his  breast  should  be  well  forward,  and  his 
belly  straight;  his  head  should  be  small  and  his  ears  thin;  his  limbs  to  the  joint 
should  be  fleshy,  below  delicate  and  covered  with  short  hair:  his  skin  should  be 
soft  and  elastic;  his  wool  soft  to  the  touch,  thick,  and  coming  well  forward  to 
the  face,  but  not  covering  it:  his  face  and  forehead  should  be  covered  thickly 
with  short  hair,  and  his  eyes,  as  indicative  of  health,  should  be  lively. 

Rearing  and  feeding. — In  the  rearing  and  feeding  of  sheep,  the  system  to  be 
adopted  must  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  farm,  and  the  kind  of  stock. 
The  treatment  of  mountain-sheep  in  an  elevated  country  is,  of  necessity,  very 
different  from  that  of  the  larger  sheep  on  an  arable  farm.  It  is  the  rearing  and 
feeding  of  the  latter  which  may  be  first  considered. 

The  female  sheep  are  ready  to  receive  the  ram  in  November,  or  sooner;  but 
the  precise  period  is  determined  by  the  forward  condition  and  constitution  of 
the  animals.  A  medium  period  is  from  the  5th  to  the  10th  of  November,  in 
which  case  the  ewes  will  begin  to  lamb  previous  to  the  beginning  of  April,  and 
the  principal  period  of  lambing  be  in  the  early  part  of  that  month. 

To  prepare  the  ewes,  they  should  receive  good  feeding  for  a  time  previous 
to  the  male  being  introduced;  and,  for  this  purpose,  they  may  be  turned  upon 
the  stubbles  where  the  young  grass  is  for  a  fortnight  before.  The  ram  is  put 
into  the  field  where  the  ewes  are  pasturing,  and  herds  along  with  them.  He 
covers  them  as  they  come  into  season;  and  1  ram  is  considered  sufficient  for 
80  sheep.  In  order  to  show  what  females  have  received  him,  and  what  have 
not,  it  is  usual  to  smear  his  breast  with  pigment,  which  appears  upon  the 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  379 

fleeces  of  such  ewes  as  he  has  covered;  and  if  more  than  one  ram  is  with  the 
flock,  then,  by  smearing  the  rams  with  different  coloured  pigment,  as  red  and 
blue,  the  progeny  of  each  is  known.  Such  ewes  as  have  not  received  the  ram 
maybe  taken  from  amongst  the  breeding  stock  and  fed  for  the  butcher. 

Rams  are  fit  to  propagate  their  species  in  the  autumn  of  the  second  year. 
Well  fed  females  will  receive  the  male  even  in  their  first  year;  but  the  proper 
period  is  in  the  October  of  the  second  year. 

The  food  of  sheep  is  herbage,  upon  which  they  feed  during  summer.  In 
winter,  when  the  pastures  fail,  the  feeding-stock  are  fed  on  a  full  allowance  of 
roots,  or  other  succulent  food;  but  the  ewes  are  suffered  to  pasture  during  the 
entire  winter,  and  merely  receive  such  an  allowance  of  otherfood  as  is  required 
to  keep  them  in  condition.  During  hard  frosts  and  snow,  they  may  receive 
hay,  which  may  be  either  given  to  them  from  racks,  or  simply  spread  upon  the 
ground.  They  thus  pasture  in  the  fields,  receiving  hay  when  occasion  requires, 
until  within  a  few  weeks  of  the  period  of  lambing,  when  they  should  receive 
an  allowance  of  turnips,  or  other  succulent  food,  laid  down  in  the  fields  where 
they  are  pasturing. 

When  the  period  of  lambing  arrives,  every  vigilance  is  necessary  on  the  part 
of  the  shepherd.  He  must  be  at  all  times  at  hand  to  assist  the  births.  He  must 
take  his  necessary  rest  only  during  the  day,  and  for  the  shortest  time  possible, 
when  his  place  can  be  supplied. 

The  birth  of  the  young  must  be  assisted,  but  not  precipitately.  The  proper 
position  of  the  foetus  is  with  its  head  couched  between  its  fore-legs.  In  other 
positions  the  birth  is  difficult,  and  it  generally  becomes  necessary  to  turn  the 
foetus,  which  is  done  by  elevating  the  ewe  from  behind.  Experienced  shep- 
herds are  acquainted  with  these  duties. 

When  the  young  is  born,  it  is  to  be  immediately  recognised,  and  licked  by 
the  dam,  and  assisted  to  the  teat  when  necessary.  When  the  lamb  of  any  ewe 
dies,  another  should  be  supplied  to  her;  either  one  of  the  twins  of  another  ewe, 
or  one  that  has  lost  its  own  dam.  Sometimes  much  difficulty  is  experienced  in 
getting  the  ewe  to  adopt  another  lamb;  and  cases  even  occur,  when  the  ewe, 
from  some  unknown  cause,  deserts  her  own  young.  In  proportion  as  the  ewes 
have  lambed,  they  should,  if  possible,  be  transferred  with  their  young  to  a  field 
of  new  grass. 

An  operation  to  be  performed  upon  the  lambs  is  castrating  the  males  which 
are  not  to  be  reserved  for  rams.  This  may  be  performed  in  a  few  days  after 
the  birth,  generally  in  8  or  10  days.  It  is  'done  by  the  shepherd,  with  an  as- 
sistant to  hold  the  animal,  and,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  usual  to  cut  off" a  portion 
of  the  tail.  The  operation  is  performed  on  lots  of  the  lambs,  and  not  on  each 
singly  as  it  reaches  a  certain  age.  It  is  well  that  it  be  performed  early,  the 
difficulty  and  danger  increasing  with  the  age  of  the  animal,  and  that  the  weather 
at  the  time  be  drv,  and,  if  possible,  cloudy  and  mild. 

The  lambs  continue  with  the  ewes  sucking  them  till  the  period  of  weaning, 
which  generally  takes  place  by  the  middle  of  July.  Weaning  is  simply  per- 
formed by  removing  the  young  from  their  dams,  and  keeping  them  for  a  time 
so  far  asunder  that  they  may  not  be  disturbed  by  their  miltual  bleatings. 

When  the  lambs  are  weaned,  the  ewes  should  be  milked  for  the  purpose  of 
relieving  their  udders  and  running  them  dry  by  degrees.  Three  milkings  will 
generally  suffice,  though,  should  any  particular  cases  require  more,  it  is  the 
province  of  the  shepherd  to  attend  to  them.  Supposing  the  lambs  to  be  weaned 
in  the  evening,  the  first  milking  may  take  place  in  the  following  evening,  or  in 
24  hours;  the  next  at  an  interval  of  36  hours;  the  last  at  an  interval  of  48  hours. 
When  the  ewes  are  to  be  milked,  they  are  driven  into  a  narrow  pen,  the  milk- 
ers, with  pails,  milking  the  ewes  from  behind;  and  on  each  ewe  being  milked, 
she  is  turned  round  in  the  pen  by  an  assistant,  the  milkers  continuing  their 
work  until  the  whole  are  milked. 

After  being  weaned,  the  lambs  receive  the  name  of  hoggets,  or  hogs,  the 
rams  being  termed  tup-hogs,  the  castrated  males,  wether-hogs,  the  ewes,  ewe- 
hogs.  The  wether  and  ewe  hoggets  are  now  pastured  together  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  season.  When  winter  approaches,  or  rather  when  the  pasture 
fails,  the  hoggets,  male  and  female,  are  to  be  put  on  a  full  allowance  of  roots. 

When  the  sheep  are  penned  upon  the  turnips,  they  are  confined  to  a  given 


380  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

space,  generally  sufficient  for  them  to  consume  in  one  week.  The  temporary 
fences  used  for  penning  them  consist  either  of  wooden  hurdles,  or  nets,  the 
latter  being  the  most  economical  and  convenient.  In  this  space  the  sheep  con- 
sume the  turnips,  and  when  they  have  eaten  them  close  to  the  ground,  the  re- 
maining portions  of  the  bulbs  are  picked  up  by  means  of  the  hoe,  so  that  the 
sheep  may  be  enabled  to  eat  them  wholly  up. 

When  they  have  consumed  one  space,  the  pens  are  shifted  to  another,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  leave  the  ground  already  cleared  open  to  the  animals  for 
walking  over  and  resting  upon.  A  rack  should  be  placed  in  the  field  with 
hav. 

Sometimes  when  young  sheep  are  penned  till  late  in  spring,  they  find  ditfi- 
culiy,  from  their  teeth  becoming  loosened,  in  eating  the  turnips.  In  this  case, 
the  turnip-slicer  may  be  employed,  and  then  the  sheep  may  be  brought  from 
the  turnip-field,  and  have  the  turnips  laid  down  to  them  in  a  field  of  dry  sward. 

The  young  sheep  or  hoggets  are  in  this  manner  fed  on  turnips  till  the  gra.ss 
is  ready  in  spring.  This  will  be  early  in  Apcil,  or  in  the  southern  parts  of  the 
country,  in  March;  for  sheep  do  not  require  the  same  full  herbage  as  cattle, 
and  may  therefore  be  turned  out  at  an  earlier  period  to  the  fields. 

Should  the  roots  fail  before  the  pastures  are  ready,  then  the  young  sheep  are 
to  be  carried  on  by  substitutes,  as  hay,  or  even  corn.  It  is  rarely,  however, 
necessary  on  a  well-ordered  farm  to  resort  to  this  costly  species  of  feeding; 
yet,  when  necessary,  it  must  be  done,  since  this  inconvenience  is  less  than  the 
evil  of  sulfering  the  stock  to  lose  condition. 

The  period  of  shearing  sheep  depends  upon  the  forward  condition  of  the 
animals.  When  fat,  the  old  wool  begins  to  come  oflf  more  early  than  when 
they  are  less  forward.  Good  conditioned  sheep  may  be  shorn  in  May,  but 
always  early  in  June;  the  precise  period  being  denoted  by  the  state  of  the  wool, 
which  comes  readily  off  when  plucked,  and  which  would  fall  entirely  off  were 
it  not  shorn. 

About  eight  days  previous  to  shearing,  the  sheep  are  driven  to  a  pool,  if  pos- 
sible in  a  running  stream,  and  three  or  more  persons  are  to  stand  in  this  pool. 
The  sheep  are  brought  forward  to  a  pen  on  the  bank,  and  lifted  into  the  pool 
one  by  one.  The  first  of  the  persons  in  the  pool  seizes  the  sheep  by  the  wool, 
and  keeping  it  on  its  back,  plunges  it  well  from  side  to  side.  He  passes  it  on 
to  the  person  next  in  order,  and  he  in  like  manner  plunges  the  animal  in  every 
direction.  This  person  then  passes  it  on  to  the  third,  who  examines  the  fleece 
as  well  as  circumstances  will  allow,  plunging  the  sheep  at  the  same  time,  and 
thus  finishing  the  operation.  The  animal  is  thus  passed  through  the  hands  of 
three  persons,  and  sometimes  more;  but  the  last  should  be  a  trusty  per.son,  such 
as  the  shepherd  himself,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  the  fleece  is  completely' 
washed  and  freed  of  sand  and  impurities. 

This  description  has  a  reference  to  young  sheep,  whose  management  we  are 
now  considering;  but  the  same  method  is  applicable  to  all  the  sheep  upon  the 
farm,  young  and  old,  with  this  difference,  that  the  ewes,  which  are  at  this  pe- 
riod suckling  their  young,  have  the  lambs  separated  from  them  during  the  pro- 
cess of  washing. 

The  sheep  being  washed,  are  driven  to  a  clean  pasture,  and  when  the  fleece 
is  dry,  which  it  will  be  in  a  few  days,  if  the  weather  is  good,  the  sheep  may  be 
shorn;  but  it  is  better  that  seven  or  eight  days  should  elapse  boiiore  shearing 
them,  in  which  case  the  yolk  of  the  wool  is  renewed. 

When  the  sheep  are  to  be  shorn,  they  are  driven  to  a  pen  or  other  enclosed 
space,  and  brought  one  by  one  to  the  shearers.  The  sheep  to  be  shorn  is  first 
placed  upon  his  rump,  and  the  shearer,  with  the  shears,  beginning  at  the  neck, 
clips  in  a  circular  direction  down  the  belly  towards  the  back.  The  animal  is 
then  laid  on  his  side,  and  kept  down  by  the  leg  of  the  shearer,  who  clips  the 
fleece  all  round  to  the  back.  Turning  the  animal  on  the  other  side,  he  clips  in 
like  manner  round  to  the  back;  then  raising  the  sheep,  he  clips  the  part  of  the 
fleece  not  yet  cut  away,  and  so  lets  the  animal  go,  taking  care  that  it  shall  not 
entangle  itself  with  the  fleece.  The  fleece,  as  soon  as  it  is  shorn,  is  taken  away 
by  an  attendant,  spread  out,  neatly  rolled  up  with  the  inner  surface  outmost, 
and  then  deposited  in  some  dry  place,  until  it  is  packed  in  the  wool  sheets. 
When  the  animals  are  shorn,  they  are  frequently  marked  with  a  stamp 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS.  381 

dipped  in  boiling  tar,  to  distinguish  the  kinds  and  ages  of  the  sheep.     This 
kind  of  mark,  though  convenient,  is  injurious  to  the  wool. 

After  the  operation  of  clipping,  the  young  sheep  are  termed  shearling  sheep; 
the  castrated  males,  shearling  wethers;  the  females,  shearling  ewes;  the  rams, 
shearling  tups  or  rams.  But  it  is  common  to  apply  to  them  at  this  period  the 
following  terms:— The  shearling  wethers  are  termed  dinmonts;  the  females 
are  termed  gimmers;  and  the  rams  are  still  termed  shearling  rams;  and  these 
names  the  animals  retain  until  they  are  .shorn  of  their  second  fleece  in  the  fol- 
lowing year. 

The  shearling  ewes  or  gimmers  are,  after  being  shorn,  kept  at  grass  for  the 
remainder  of  the  season,  and  they  receive  the  rams  in  October  in  the  manner 
described. 

The  shearling  wethers  or  dinmonts  are  soon  after  shearing  fit  for  the 
butcher.  They  are  then  about  one  year  and  three  months  old.  If  of  the  Lei- 
cester breed,  they  will  weigh  16  or"l8  lbs.  the  quarter,  and  their  fleeces  will 
weigh  7  lbs.  each,  or  more. 

But  should  the  pasture  be  inferior,  the  breed  bad,  or  the  stock  not  in  sufli- 
cient  order,  or  should  the  state  of  the  markets  render  it  inexpedient  to  sell,  then 
the  dinmonts  may  be  kept  upon  the  farm  for  one  winter  more.  In  this  case  they 
are  pastured  precisely  as  when  they  were  hoggets  during  the  remainder  of  the 
season;  and  when  in  autumn  the  pastures  again  fail,  they  are  penned  on  tur- 
nips, and  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  previous  winter. 

The  dinmonts  are  frequently  sold  fat  before  they  have  completed  the  entire 
winter's  feeding.  But  it  is  more  common  to  keep  them  during  the  winter  on 
turnips,  to  put  them  upon  good  and  early  grass  in  the  spring,  and  to  dispose  of 
them  after-they  are  shorn.  They  are  then  two  years  and  two  or  three  months 
old,  and  have  yielded  two  fleeces  to  the  breeder.  They  will  weigh  at  this  age 
from  25  to  30  lbs.  the  quarter,  cr  more,  and  their  fleeces  will  weigh  aboutSlbs. 
These  and  other  sheep,  after  they  are  shorn  of  their  second  fleece,  are  termed 
two-shear  sheep:  the  males  not  castrated  are  simply  tups  or  rams;  the  males 
castrated  are  wethers,  and  the  females  are  ewes.  It  is  more  profitable  to  be  able 
to  feed  otr  sheep  when  shearlings  than  to  retain  them  till  they  are  two  years 
old.  The  former  is  the  perfection  of  feeding;  but  it  is  a  perfection  attainable 
on  every  arable  farm  in  this  country  on  which  roots  can  be  raised,  and  a  supe- 
rior breed  of  sheep  maintained. 

In  the  practice  of  the  farm,  then,  the  male  sheep  are  disposed  of  either  after 
having  yielded  one  fleece,  or  after  having  yielded  two  fleeces.  Such  of  the 
ewes  as  are  reared  on  the  farm,  but  are  not  to  be  employed  for  breeding,  may 
be  treated  in  the  same  manner. 

But  with  respect  to  the  ewes  upon  the  farm  kept  for  breeding,  it  is  necessa- 
ry, after  they  have  borne  lambs  for  several  years,  to  dispose  of  them,  and  to 
supply  their  place  by  younger  ewes  reared  upon  the  farm.  A  certain  number 
of  gimmers  being  each  year  added  to  the  breeding  stock,  an  equal  number  of 
the  oldest  ewes  are  disposed  of,  and  thus  the  number  of  breeding  sheep  is  main- 
tained. 

And  not  only  are  all  ewes  Avhich  have  borne  the  required  number  of  lambs 
to  be  disposed  of  in  this  manner,  but  all  breeding  sheep,  of  whatever  age,  that 
are  not  healthy,  or  that  are  of  a  defective  form,  and  their  place  is  to  be  supplied 
by  the  younger  and  better  stock  reared  upon  the  ground. 

These,  then,  have  been  the  principal  points  of  practice  in  the  management 
of  a  sheep-stock  reared  upon  the  farm:  The  female  stock,  like  the  males,  were 
suckled  by  the  dams  till  July;  they  were  then  weaned,  and  pastured  with  the 
wether-hogs  during  the  remainder  of  the  season,  when  they  were  put  together 
with  the  wether-hogs  on  turnips  before  winter;  they  were  fed  on  turnips  till 
April,  when  they  were  turned  out  to  pasture  along  with  the  wether-hogs;  early 
in  June  they  were  dipt;  in  the  month  of  October  they  were  joined  to  the  rest 
of  the  ewe  stock,  supplying  the  place  of  the  older  ewes  that  have  been  disposed 
ot;  and  after  this  time  they  are  treated  in  all  respects  as  breeding  ewes,  and 
kept  upon  the  farm  till  they  have  borne  lambs  for  three  or  four  years.  The 
males,  it  has  been  seen,  were  castrated  a  few  days  after  birth,— were  weaned 
in  July,  when  they  received  the  name  of  welher-hogs,— were  pastured  during 
the  remainder  of  the  season,  and  were  then,  together  with  the  ewe-hogs,  penned 


382  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS. 

on  turnips;  in  the  following  April  tbej'  were  put  on  grass,  and  by  the  begin- 
ning of  June  the}'-  were  washed  and  dipt;  they  then  received  the  name  of  din- 
monts,  when  they  were  fat,  and  ready  to  be  sold  as  soon  afterwards  as  conve- 
nient; or  when,  from  the  deticiency  of  feeding  or  other  cause,  they  were  not 
then  ready  for  the  butcher,  they  were  again  pastured  during  the  summer,  a 
second  lime  penned  on  turnips,  and  generally  pastured  till  they  were  dipt  the 
second  time,  when  they  were  wethers  and  in  high  perfection  with  regard  to 
growth  and  feeding. 

Sheep,  especially  when  fat  and  loaded  with  wool,  are  often  unable  to  rise 
when  they  have  fallen  npon  their  backs  in  any  hollow  place,  and  they  will 
perish  if  not  relieved  in  time.  To  guard  against  these  and  all  other  accidents, 
sheep  must  be  regularly  tended.  They  must  be  examined  at  least  twice  in  the 
day;  they  are  to  be  cleaned  when  necessarj',  by  cutting  otT  dotted  wool,  and 
above  all  things  ihey  are  to  be  guarded  against  the  attacks  of  maggots.  In  the 
latter  case,  a  decoction  of  tobacco  mixed  with  spirits  of  tar,  and  in  some  cases 
a  solution  of  sublimate  of  mercury,  are  the  remedies  commonly  employed. 
Their  heads  are  frequently  injured  by  the  attacks  of  flies:  for  which  a  little  tar 
spread  upon  the  wound  is  the  most  frequent  and  the  best  remedy. 

In  the  whole  treatment  of  sheep,  gentleness  is  of  great  moment.  The  wor- 
rying and  harassing  of  them  by  dogs  is  never  to  be  thought  of  In  upland  pas- 
tures the  faithful  dog  is  essential  to  the  shepherd;  in  an  enclosed  country  the 
necessity  for  employing  him  is  greatly  lessened,  and  he  is  always  to  be  used 
with  temperance  and  humanity  towards  the  flock. 

The  treatment  of  a  lowland  stock  has  been  described,  where  the  breeder  is 
likewise  the  feeder;  but  sometimes  the  object  of  the  breeder  is  not  to  feed  the 
stock  which  he  rears,  but,  after  having  brought  it  to  a  certain  age,  to  dispose 
of  It  to  others  who  will  feed  it. 

Sometimes,  on  the  other  hand,  the  design  of  the  farmer  is  not  to  breed  sheep, 
but  to  buv  them  from  others  whose  interest  it  has  been  to  rear  and  not  to  feed 
them.  The  effecting  of  these  sales,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  making  of  these 
purchases  on  the  other,  constitute  one  of  the  branches  of  farming  as  a  business. 
But  it  is  a  branch  which  cannot  be  taught  by  rule,  but  must  be  learned  by 
practice. 

One  of  the  branches  of  sheep-farming,  in  which  the  breeder  is  likewise  the 
feeder,  is  the  rearing  of  lambs  and  selling  them  when  fattened.  The  lambs 
are  fattened  by  the  milk  of  the  mothers,  and  are  merely  disposed  of  when  they 
are  ready  for  being  killed.  The  feeding  of  the  lamb.s  in  the  house  for  early 
consumption  is  also  practised,  and  in  some  parts  has  been  brought  to  a  system. 
This  branch  of  management  need  not  be  described.  The  sheep  of  the  Dorset 
breed  are  valued  as  being  the  best  suited  to  yield  early  lambs  in  this  manner. 

Grass  in  summer  and  roots  in  winter,  with  a  little  hay  for  the  ewes,  have 
been  spoken  of  as  the  food  of  sheep.  The  basis  of  this  system  is  the  turnip 
crop.  But,  in  certain  cases,  this  mean  of  support  may  fail  or  be  wanting,  and 
it  then  becomes  necessary  to  resort  to  other  substances.  Potatoes,  mangel- 
vurtzel,  and  other  roots,  may  be  eaten  by  sheep  as  well  as  by  oxen;  and  cab- 
bages and  rape  are  perfectly  suited  to  the  purpose  of  feeding  them. 

All  kinds  of  farinaceous  food  are  consumed  by  sheep.  When  grain  is  given, 
it  is  the  common  practice  to  lay  down  the  sheaves  unthrashed,  when  the  sheep 
readily  separate  the  grains  from  the  straw.  Brewers'  grains  may  be  given  to 
.sheep;  and  they  will  consume  this  nourishing  substance  readily.  Oil-cake, 
too,  is  well  calculated  to  fatten  sheep,  and  may  be  used  occasionally  where 
cheaper  methods  of  carrying  on  the  stock  are  wanting. 

Besides  common  food,  there  is  a  condiment,  salt,  of  great  importance  to 
sheep,  as  to  all  domestic  animals,  but  which  is  too  much  neglected  in  the  rural 
economy  of  this  country.  If  laid  on  flat  stones  or  in  troughs,  the  animals  will 
quickly  find  their  way  to  it,  and  will  be  seen  to  wait  for  their  daily  portion  of 
salt  with  as  much  eagerness  as  for  their  periodical  supplies  of  food. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  management  of  a  lowland  breed  of  sheep.  It  is  neces- 
sarv  to  consider  also  the  treatment  of  the  animal  under  circumstances  entirely 
ditferent;  that  is,  when  reared  and  pastured  in  a  country  where  cultivated 
food  is  either  wanting  or  to  he  procured  in  limited  quantity. 

The  Cheviot  sheep  are  reared  in  an  elevated  country.     But  in  the  places 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS.  353 

where  they  are  produced,  turnips  and  the  cultivated  grasses  may  generally  be 
supplied  ill  certain  quantity. 

In  the  rearing  of  this  breed,  the  rams  are  usually  put  to  the  ewes  from  the 
middle  to  the  20th  of  November,  so  that  the  lambs  shall  begin  to  drop  about 
the  1st  of  April.  The  ewes  generally  receive  no  further  feeding  during  the 
period  of  gestation  than  hay  in  falls  of  snow.  This  may  be  supplied  to  theui 
from  racks,  or  simply  laid  upon  the  surface  of  the  snow.  The  ground  is  fre- 
quently covered  with  snow  for  six  weeks;  but  it  is  sometimes  covered  for  twice 
that  period.  During  the  winter,  therefore,  a  store  of  hay  should  be  in  reserve 
for  three  months'  consumption,  and  this  may  be  calculated  at  the  rate  of  IJ 
lbs.  for  the  ewes  and  older  sheep,  and  1  lb.  per  day  for  the  younger  sheep. 
Should  the  winter  be  mild,  what  is  left  remains  till  the  following  season. 

Where  turnips  are  raised,  these  are  given  also  to  the  breeding  stock.  The 
ewe  receives  them  during  falls  of  snow,  and  in  an  especial  degree  when  the 
lambing  season  arrives  and  during  its  continuance. 

When  both  hay  and  turnips  are  to  be  supplied,  it  will  be  proper  either  to  give 
them  at  the  same  time,  that  is,  a  portion  of  hay  and  a  portion  of  turnips  each 
day,  or  to  begin  with  hay  and  end  with  turnips;  for  to  begin  with  turnips  and 
end  with  hay  is  to  cause  the  sheep  to  pass  from  succulent  food  to  one  which  is 
less  grateful,  so  that  a  time  elapses  before  the  animals  are  reconciled  to  the 
change.  But  when  turnips  are  given,  and  hay  supplied  at  the  same  time,  the 
sheep  take  to  this  variety  of  feeding  very  readily. 

The  process  of  lambing  in  these  high  "districts  demands  the  utmost  vigilance 
of  the  shepherds.  They  must  never  be  absent  night  nor  day,  but  relieve  one 
another,  and  inspect  the  flock  at  short  intervals,  so  as  to  assist  the  parturition 
of  the  ewes  when  necessary. 

Sometimes  the  lambs  at  their  birth  are  so  weak  that  they  cannot  rise  to  the 
teat,  and  Thus  perish  nr  are  forsaken  by  the  dams.  The  shepherd  assists  them 
in  such  cases,  and  frequently  takes  the  ewe  with  her  young  to  a  house  or  place 
of  shelter,  where  they  can  be  attended  to.  When  the  ewes  have  twins,  and 
thus  have  two  lambs  to  nurse,  it  is  usual  to  give  them  a  more  liberal  supply  of 
food.  For  this  purpose  it  is  convenient  to  have  an  enclosure  of  early  grass 
near  the  place  of  lambing  or  the  shepherd's  cottage,  to  which  ewes  with  twins, 
such  as  have  too  little  milk,  and  such  as  are  sick  or  infirm,  or  from  any  cause 
require  more  attendance  than  the  rest  of  the  flock,  may  be  taken.  Though  va- 
rious ewes  produce  twins,  it  is  regarded  as  a  favourable  circumstance  in  the 
ca^e  of  this  class  of  sheep  when  one  lamb  can  be  reared  for  each  ewe  of  the 
flock.     It  is  well  when  19  lambs  can  be  reared  for  every  20  ewes. 

As  soon  as  the  weather  is  favourable,  after  a  considerable  number  of  the 
ewes  have  lambs,  they  are  collected  into  a  fold,  and  all  the  males  castrated, 
except  such  as  are  reserved  for  rams:  and  the  sooner  the  operation  is  perform- 
ed after  the  lambs  are  a  lew  days  old  the  better. 

When  the  period  of  shearing  arrives,  which  is  known  by  the  wool  being 
f\illy  grown,  the  sheep  are  washed,  sometimes  by  men  standing  in  the  pool, 
who  wash  each  sheep  separately,  in  the  manner  before  described;  or,  when  the 
flocks  are  large,  by  causing  them  to  swim  two  or  three  times  through  the 
water  to  the  opposite  bank.  After  being  washed,  they  are  kept  as  much  as 
possible  on  ground  where  they  are  preserved  from  rubbing  on  banks,  or  other- 
wise soiling  their  wool.  In  two  days,  if  there  be  no  rain,  they  may  be  shorn, 
but  it  is  better  to  wait  seven  or  eight  days.  The  wool  is  shorn  in  the  manner 
before  described,  and  stored  in  a  proper  place  till  packed  in  sheets.  As 
soon  as  each  sheep  is  shorn  it  may  be  marked  with  a  stamp  dipt  in  boiling  tar. 
The  mark  is  made  on  different  parts  of  the  body,  as  near  the  shoulder,  the  far 
shoulder,  the  near  rib,  the  far  rib,  so  as  ihat  the  different  kinds  and  ages  of  the 
heep  can  be  known  at  a  glance. 

About  the  middle  of  July  the  lambs  are  weaned,  when  such  lambs  as  are  to 
be  disposed  of  are  separated  from  the  remainder  and  scdd.  The  lambs,  now 
hoggets,  are  put  on  such  good  pasturage  as  the  farm  affords,  and  supplied,  if 
possible,  with  turnips  throughout  the  winter,  at  the  rate  of  a  cart-load  for  7  or 
8  scores  in  the  day. 

Some  farmers  still  milk  their  ewes  for  a  few  weeks;  but  the  more  approved 
practice  is  to  milk  thein  only  for  a  few  days,  merely  to  relieve  the  ewes  of  their 
milk  by  degrees. 


384  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

Before  -w-inter,  it  is  a  general  practice,  the  utilit}'  of -ttinch  is  experienced  in 
a  very  elevated  country,  to  smear  the  skins  of  the  sheep  with  a  mixture  of  tar 
and  butter.  The  practice  indeed  is  found  to  deteriorate  the  wool,  by  staining 
it,  and  rendering  it  unfit  for  receiving  the  brighter  colours  in  dyeing.  It  is 
found,  however,  conducive  to  the  health  of  the  stock  in  an  inclement  country, 
destroying  vermin,  of  itself  an  important  object  to  the  health  of  sheep,  and 
acting  to  a  considerable  degree  in  defending  the  animals  from  cold  and  mois- 
ture. 

It  is  a  general  error  on  merely  stock  farms  to  plough  up  too  much  of  the  land 
for  crop,  or  to  intersperse  the  cultivated  land  with  the  range  of  the  sheep  pas- 
ture. The  object  of  tillage  on  such  farms  is  to  raise  turnips  and  clover-hay, 
for  keeping  the  stock  throughout  the  winter  months,  and,  this  being  attained, 
the  farmer  ought  rarely  to  carry  his  system  of  tillage  further. 

In  many  cases,  indeed,  the  farmer  of  a  mountain  farm  has  also  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  lowland  ground  to  combine  the  practice,  both  of  rearing  sheep  and 
feeding  them.  This,  when  it  occurs,  is  beneficial;  but  when  it  does  not  occur, 
the  proper  occupation  of  a  mountain  farm  is  to  rear  sheep,  and  not  to  feed 
them;  and  the  general  principle  of  management  is  to  sell  the  sheep  which  are 
reared  to  the  feeder  as  soon  as  they  have  come  to  tolerable  maturity,  that  is, 
either  after  the  first  winter,  when  hoggets,  or  after  the  second  winter,  when, 
dinmonts. 

Reared  in  yet  more  elevated  districts  than  the  Cheviot,  are  the  Black-faced 
heath  sheep.  These  are  the  hardiest  of  all  our  races  of  sheep,  and  in  the  parts 
of  the  country  where  they  are  principallj'  cultivated,  they  must  depend  chiefly 
or  entirely  on  the  natural  herbage  of  the  farm. 

The  rams  are  generally  put  to  the  ewes  after  the  middle  of  November,  and 
one  ram  is  assigned  to  sixty  ewes  or  less.  The  lambs  intended  for  wethers 
are  castrated  somewhat  later  than  the  other  sheep:  they  are  weaned  late  in. 
July,  and  the  ewes  milked  sometimes  for  a  few  weeks.  The  sheep  are  shorn 
from  the  end  of  June  till  the  middle  of  July;  and  when  they  are  to  be  washed, 
they  are  driven  to  a  pool  or  deep  stream,  and  forced  to  leap  from  the  bank. 
This  being  a  very  wild  race  of  sheep,  the  same  delicacy  of  inanagement  is  not 
necessary  or  practicable  as  in  the  case  of  the  more  docile  breeds  of  the  plains. 
They  are  shorn  in  the  same  manner  as  the  other  sheep;  and  opportunity  is 
then  taken  to  place  upon  them  their  distinguishing  marks.  In  all  cases  they 
.should  be  smeared;  for  though,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Cheviot  sheep,  the  wool 
is  injured  by  the  process,  this  is  more  than  compensated  by  the  benefits  result- 
ing to  the  flock. 

The  food  of  these  hardy  sheep  is  in  summer  and  winter  the  same;  and  all 
that  can  be  generally  done  is  to  supply  them  with  some  coarse  hay  during 
long-continued  falls  of  snow.  They  are  sold  at  the  ages  which  suit  the  nature 
of  the  farm  and  the  convenience  of  the  breeder. 

The  management  of  the  other  kinds  of  down  or  moorland  sheep  need  not  be 
detailed.  These  breeds  are  generally  in  low  situations,  where  the  difficulty  of 
procuring  food  is  comparatively  little.  The  nearer  the  management  of  this 
class  of  sheep  approaches  to  that  of  the  larger  sheep  of  the  plains,  already  de- 
scribed, the  more  perfect  will  it  be. 

Diseases  of  sheep. — The  diseases  of  these  valuable  creatures  are  sometimes 
of  a  very  lormidable  nature,  and  baffle  all  the  means  of  remedy  which  are 
knowm  to  us.  Of  these  diseases  the  most  dreaded  is  rot,  which  often  extends 
over  whole  districts  of  a  country. 

It  is  known  that  this  disease  is  favoured  or  produced  by  a  humid  stale  of  the 
soil  and  atmosphere.  It  is  in  wet  seasons  that  it  prevails  the  most,  and  is  the 
most  fatal.  By  draining  land  xhe  tendency  to  it  is  lessened  or  taken  away. 
Often  sheep  are  rotted  by  pasturing  on  the  wet  parts  of  the  farm,  whereas  if 
kept  from  these  parts  they  remain  free  from  disease.  Nay,  a  single  sheep  that 
has  a  disposition  to  pick  up  its  food  in  moist  places  will  die,  while  the  others 
will  not  be  affected. 

The  animal  affected  does  not  all  at  once  show  symptoms  of  disease;  for  some- 
times it  remains  a  considerable  time  in  apparent  health,  and  long  after  it  has 
been  removed  from  the  place  of  infection,  droops  and  dies.  Sheep  are  every 
year  purchased  in  seeming  health,  and  yet  after  a  time  they  are  found  to  be 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  385 

affected.  A  moist  and  even  luxuriant  autumn  is  dreaded  above  all  things  by 
the  owner  of  sheep;  for  the  seeds  of  infection  are  then  often  spread  to  appear 
in  the  following  spring,  or  after  the  lapse  of  a  longer  period. 

The  signs  of  rottenness  in  sheep  are  familiar  to  all  shepherds.  The  animal 
becomes  emaciated,  its  eye  becomes  dull  and  glassy,  a  black  purging  generally 
takes  place,  the  wool,  on"  being  pulled,  comes  readily  away  from  the  skin,  the 
breath  becomes  fetid,  and  the  urine  is  small  in  quantity  and  high  coloured. 
As  the  disease  proceeds,  the  skin  is  marked  with  spots,  and  the  emaciation  in- 
creases continually,  until  the  sheep  dies.  In  short,  the  term  rot  expresses  truly 
the  state  of  the  animal.  The  disease  proceeds  with  various  degrees  of  rapidity; 
sometimes  it  attacks  the  entire  flock  suddenly,  and  sometimes  its  progress  is 
gradual,  and  it  affects  only  a  given  number  of  individuals.  Graziers  often 
avail  themselves  of  the  period  of  the  animals  beginning  to  decline  to  rid  them- 
selves of  an  infected  stock.  During  the  first  period  of  being  tainted,  the  sheep 
have  frequently  a  strong  tendency  to  feed,  and  if  killed  in  time  the  flesh  may 
not  be  perceptibly  affected.  r   i,    t 

In  all  cases  of  rot  the  disease  is  accompanied  by  a  morbid  state  of  the  liver. 
During  the  progress  of  it,  the  fluke,  a  small  animal,  Fasciola  hepatica,  appears 
on  the  parts  connected  with  the  liver  and  the  gall-bladder.  At  first  the  num- 
ber of  these  creatures  is  small,  but  as  the  disease  advances  they  increase,  and 
before  death  are  generally  very  numerous.  In  the  last  stage  of  the  disease  they 
have  extended  to  the  stomach  and  other  parts. 

Frequently  the  disease  terminates  favourably,  the  inflammatory  action  going 
off  without  destroying  the  parts.  But  even  in  this  case  the  taint  is  rarely  re- 
moved, and  years  afterwards,  when  the  animal  has  been  fattened  and  killed, 
the  liver  has  been  found  to  be  diseased,  the  flukes  being  in  great  numbers. 

The  best  preventive  of  rot  is  to  render  the  soil  dry;  hence  on  all  sheep  pas- 
tures, the  importance  of  draining.  But  should  the  disease,  in  spite  of  all  pre- 
cautions, appear,  then  we  should,  without  loss  of  time,  remove  the  sheep  to  a 
drier  pasture,  and  supply  them  liberally  with  proper  food.  It  is  only,  ho\v- 
ever,  in  the  early  stages  of  the  disease,  that  a  change  of  food  will  usually  avail. 
If  the  disease  has  proceeded  to  a  considerable  extent,  even  though  it  should  not 
have  evinced  itself  by  any  great  change  in  the  external  appearance  of  the  nock 
the  animals  will  often  perish  hourly  amidst  the  most  wholesome  food  with 
which  they  can  be  supplied. 

Of  all  the  medicines  that  have  been  proposed  for  this  fatal  disease,  salt  alone 
is  that  whose  virtue  has  been  established  by  any  satisfactory  testimony.  The 
beneficial  effect  of  salt  in  the  prevention  and  even  cure  of  rot,  has  been  con- 
firmed by  the  observation  of  farmers  in  this  and  other  countries. 

Salt  indeed  will  not  in  all  cases  prevent  or  cure  the  disease;  for  sometimes 
the  tendency  to  it  from  particular  causes  is  too  strong  to  be  counteracted,  and, 
when  it  has  once  attacked  the  flock,  too  violeni  in  its  progress  to  be  arrested. 
But  though  salt  is  not  a  specific,  it  is  the  best  means  of  remedy  with  which  we 
are  acquainted.  .  , 

If  salt  be  placed  near  the  animals  in  troughs  or  on  flat  stones,  they  will 
eagerly  lick  it,  and  when  disease  threatens  them,  it  may  be  given  to  them  in 
any  quantity  in  which  they  will  consume  it;  for  it  is  then  seen  that  they  are 
obeying  a  natural  instinct  in  having  recourse  to  the  remedy;  and  in  a  wet 
season  when  disease  may  be  apprehended,  no  one  should  grudge  the  trouble 
of  so  cheap  and  simple  a  precaution. 

Much  has  been  written  upon  the  subject  of  this  disease,  but  all  that  has  been 
written  has  nearly  left  us  where  we  were  with  regard  to  the  remedy.  It  had 
been  long  known  that  wetness  of  the  soil,  however  produced,  gave  rise  to  rot; 
that  the  best  preventive  was  pasturing  on  dry  ground  and  giving  sufficient 
food,  and  that  the  best  remedy  where  disease  appeared  was  a  change  ol  pas- 
ture.    To  these  results  of  old  experience  is  to  be  added,  the  using  of  salt. 

Another  disease,  arising  from  a  different  cause  than  the  rot,  but  like  it  end- 
ing in  emaciation,  and  the  death  of  the  animal,  is  provincially  itxmtA  pining . 
This  disease  is  accompanied  by  a  costive  state  of  the  animal,  whereas  the  rot 
is  never  accompanied  by  costiveness;  and  in  the  rot  the  liver  is  always  affect- 
ed, while  in  the  pining  the  liver  is  sound. 

This  disease  seems  to  arise  from  the  want  of  exercise,  and  from  the  animals 

33 


386  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

feeding  on  very  dry  pastures.  Before  the  extensive  drainin?  of  the  pasture- 
lands,  where  it  is  now  found,  the  disease  wa.s  unknown.  The  rot  was  then 
common;  but  with  the  draining  of  the  lands  the  rot  disappeared,  and  this  new 
disease  took  its  place.  The  former  practice  of  management  in  the  districts 
where  the  disease  now  prevails,  was  to  keep  the  sheep  in  flocks,  which  were 
moved  about  along  their  alloned  range  of  pastures.  They  ate  now,  under  a 
more  approved  system  of  management,  sufiered  to  spread  over  a  large  extent 
of  pasture;  and  thus  they  are  not  obliged  to  take  exercise,  but  are  allowed  to 
feed  more  on  a  given  spot  of  groimd. 

A  change  of  place  and  food  is  the  preventive  or  the  remedy;  and  if  a  change 
of  food  is  resorted  to  in  time,  it  is  generally  sufficient  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
the  disease.  Even  a  removal  to  a  fresh  heath  will  sometimes  accomplish  the 
purpose,  but  the  proper  and  efl^ectual  remedy  in  all  cases  is  a  change  to  a  more 
rich  and  succulent  pasture.  The  disease  is  sometimes  very  fatal,  destroying 
entire  flocks  like  a  pestilence. 

Sheep  are  subject  to  a  long  and  frightful  train  of  inflammatory  diseases.  In 
all  such  cases,  however  the)'  may  affect  the  animals,  bleeding  should  be  at  once 
resorted  to,  as  the  only  mean  of  subduing  the  disease,  and  giving  a  chance  of 
.safety.  The  eye-vein  is  that  usually  opened  in  bleeding  the  sheep;  but  all 
shepherds  should  be  taught  to  bleed  from  the  jugular  vein,  as  being  the  mu'-t 
suitable.  The  quantity  of  blood  abstracted  must  vary  with  the  age  and  strength 
of  the  animals.  The  rule,  in  the  case  of  the  sheep  as  in  that  of  the  ox,  is  to 
bleed  freely.  The  process  may  be  continued  until  the  pulse  itself  is  afiected, 
when  it  must  be  instantly  stopped.  Purgative  medicines,  too,  ought  to  be  given 
to  the  sheep,  in  the  case  of  this  class  of  diseases,  and  of  these  the  most  approved 
are,  Epsom  salt  in  the  proportion  of  from  4  to  6  oz.,  and  about  half  that  quan- 
tity, or  a  little  inore,  ol  Glauber's  salt.  Common  salt  is  often  applied  in  coun- 
try practice  with  the  effect  desired.  On  the  part  of  shepherds,  it  is  to  be 
observed,  there  exists  a  prejudice  against  the  administration  of  medicines  to 
sheep,  doubtless  from  their  having  observed  the  little  effect  usually  produced. 
But  this  prejudice  should  not  be  permitted  to  operate  where  the  lives  of  sheep 
are  in  imminent  hazard,  as  is  the  case  in  all  inflammatory  diseases.  It  is  be- 
yond a  doubt  that  by  prompt  bleeding,  and  the  judicious  application  of  purga- 
tives, the  lives  of  many  thousands  of  these  valuable  creatures  may  be  yearly 
saved  to  this  country. 

Amongst  inflammatorj'  putrid  fevers  to  which  sheep  are  subject,  one,  termed 
braxy,  is  very  destructive  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  The  progress  of 
this  dLsease  is  very  sudden  and  violent.  Of  the  remedies  to  be  employed, 
bleeding  and  purging  are  plainly  those  which  the  nature  of  the  disease  points 
out.  This  disease  seems  generally  to  be  caused  by  bad  food,  and  the  most 
efficient  preventive  is  known  to  be  good  feeding.  Turnips  or  other  succulent 
roots  given  to  young  sheep  feeding  on  natural  pastures  are  always  beneficial; 
and  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  in  proportion  as  the  treatment  of  sheep  in  a  coim- 
iry  has  improved,  this  dangerous  malady  has  diminished. 

Diarrhoea  and  dysenter\'  are  diseases  of  sheep.  Diarrhoea  is  frequently  pro- 
duced by  too  sudden  a  growth  of  grass  in  spring,  and  it  most  frequently  aflTects 
young  sheep.  It  may  be  generally  cured  by  removing  the  animals  to  drier  pas- 
ture; and  a  little  grain  may  be  always  given  with  good  efl'ects. 

Dysentery  is  a  more  serious  disease,  and  is  often  very  destructive.  In  this 
disease,  bleeding  is  plainlv  required  to  subdue  the  inflammation,  and  purging 
to  carry  off"  the  peccant  matter  in  the  intestines.  Hay  may  be  ofl^ered  and  a 
few  sheaves  of  grain  laid  down,  and  the  use  of  mashes  will  in  an  especial 
manner  be  found  beneficial. 

Sheep  are  liable  to  various  cutaneous  diseases — diseases  of  the  skin.  The 
principal  of  these  is  termed  scab;  and  it  is  indicated  by  extreme  itching  and 
eruptions  of  the  skin.  "When  introduced  into  a  flock  it  may  be  attended  with 
very  serious  effects,  unless  checked  by  efficient  remedies. 

The  most  common  remedy  for  the  disease  is  sulphur  mixed  with  some  unc- 
tuous substance  to  fix  it  on  the  skin.  One  of  the  best  receipts  perhaps  is  a  de- 
coction of  tobacco  and  spirit  of  turpentine,  with  the  addition  of  a  little  soft  soap 
and  sulphur  vivum.  The  decoction  of  tobacco  may  be  obtained  by  boiling  the 
tobacco  in  brine  or  salt  water.     The  liquid  when  prepared  is  applied  from  a 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  387 

vessel  like  a  teapot  with  a  spout,  or  from  a  bottle  with  a  quill  passed  through 
the  cork.  A  person  lays  the  wool  back  in  lines  so  as  to  expose  the  skin,  and 
pours  out  the  liquid  along  the  lines  upon  the  skin.  But  when  the  distemper  is 
very  violent,  a  mercurial  preparation  may  be  required.  This  is  now  to  be  ob- 
tained in  apothecaries'  shops  under  the  name  of  sheep-ointment.  It  is  made 
in  balls,  and  when  used  is  dissolved  in  oil,  and  applied  to  the  skin  of  the 
animal. 

Sometimes  infected  sheep  will  find  their  way  into  the  best  managed  flocks; 
hut  every  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  the  disease  from  breaking  out,  or  to  cure 
it  as  quickly  as  possible  when  it  appears.  The  infection  of  a  diseased  flock  is 
left  behind  it  upon  the  hedges  and  pasture-fields,  and  therefore  precaution  is  to 
be  used  before  a  fresh  flock  is  turned  into  fields  where  infected  sheep  had  been 
recently  feeding. 

Another  disease  of  sheep  is  the  foot-rot,  which  is  an  inflammation  of  the 
foot,  followed  by  an  ulceration  and  destruction  of  the  hoof  The  disease  chiefly 
prevails  in  wet  seasons,  or  in  soft  grounds.  It  is  a  very  painful  disease,  causing 
the  entire  lameness  and  loss  of  condition  of  the  animal.  Certain  grounds  are 
noted  for  communicating  the  foot-rot;  and  as  it  appears  amongst  the  pasturing 
stock  season  after  season,  such  grounds  are  commonly  said  to  be  infected  with 
the  tbot-rot.  The  opinion  that  it  is  of  a  highly  infectious  nature  is  universal 
amongst  farmers  and  shepherds.  But  however  circumstances  may  seem  to 
favour  this  opinion,  some  have  conceived  that  it  is  more  consistent  with  efl^ects 
observed  to  regard  it  as  connected  with  the  state  of  the  pasture-grounds.  Yet 
it  is  ditficult  to  resist  the  evidence,  that,  having  been  produced,  it  is  conveyed 
to  others  of  the  flock  by  contact  with  the  ulcerous  matter  of  the  diseased  foot. 

Although  painful  and  destructive  to  the  good  condition  of  the  animal,  this 
disease  is  not  absolutely  fatal,  except  under  entire  neglect,  in  M'hich  case  the 
animal  becomes  unable  to  seek  his  food,  crawls  upon  his  knees,  and,  worn 
away  by  exhaustion,  perishes.  But  if  early  attention  be  paid,  the  disease  ad- 
mits of  remedy.  In  the  first  place,  let  all  the  infected  part  of  the  hoof  be  pared 
away,  and  the  ulcerous  matter  removed,  and  then  let  the  foot  he  washed  with 
soap  and  hot  water,  and  let  the  surface  he  dressed  with  some  caustic,  of  which 
the  best  is  muriate  of  antimony.  In  incipient  cases,  by  simply  paring  the  hoof 
and  cleansing  it  with  soap  and  water,  and  then  dipping  it  in  boiled  tar,  the  pro- 
gress of  the  disease  will  be  arrested. 

The  next  disease  to  be  mentioned  is  of  frequent  occurrence.  This  is  hydatids, 
staggers,  or  water-in-the-head  as  it  is  frequently  termed.  The  cause  of  this 
disease  is  a  parasitic  animal,  a  hydatid,  which  is  found  in  the  brain  of  sheep. 
It  enlarges  in  size,  and,  if  not  removed,  ultimately  destroys  the  animal.  This 
creature  when  distended  with  fluid  resembles  a  round  sac  filled  with  water, 
and  hence  it  was  long  supposed  to  be  water,  and  the  disease,  in  consequence, 
termed  water-in-the-head. 

When  the  hydatid  is  in  the  brain,  the  animal  affected  shows  great  symptoms 
of  distress;  he  leans  his  head  to  one  side,  mopes  by  himself,  continues  turning 
round,  and  finally  dies.  The  remedy  for  this  disease  is  to  reach  the  hydatid, 
and  to  extract  it,  or  at  least  to  perforate  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  destioy  its 
vitality.  When  it  is  situated  at  the  surface  of  the  brain,  the  part  feels  soft,  and 
it  may  be  reached  by  a  sharp  instrument,  as  a  common  awl  or  gimlet,  or  the 
hydatid  itself  may  be  extracted.  This  may  be  done  by  the  trephine.  Shep- 
herds perform  the  operation  in  a  rude  manner  by  a  sharp  knife.  A  small  por- 
tion of  the  scull  is  so  cut,  as  to  be  raised  up  like  a  lid.  The  hydatid  being  ex- 
posed, is  pulled  out  by  pincers,  and  the  fluid  absorbed  by  a  sponge  or  piece  of 
linen.  The  skull  is  then  replaced,  and  dressed  with  common  tar  put  upon  a 
piece  of  soft  leather. 

Often  the  hydatid  may  be  reached  by  a  wire  thrust  up  the  nostrils,  and  it  is 
remarkable  that  this  operation  frequently  succeeds  in  the  hands  of  shepherds. 

Sheep  are  liable  to  the  attacks  of  various  animals.  One  of  these,  a  species  of 
aphis,  termed  the  sheep-louse,  is  very  common,  and  chiefly  prevails  where  the 
sheep  are  in  an  unhealthy  condition.  It  is  of  a  flat  form,  and  attaching  itself 
to  the  throat  and  other  parts,  occasions  much  irritation.  Tar,  turpentine,  or 
tobacco  liquor,  are  the  substances  chiefly  used  to  destroy  this  animal,  and  any 
simple  mercurial  preparation  is  effectual. 


388  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

But  the  most  pernicious  enemy  that  attacks  sheep  is  the  common  sheep  mag- 
got, the  larva  of  a  species  of  flesh-fly.  The  fly  having  deposited  her  eggs  on 
the  skin  of  the  sheep,  the  larvae  are  hatched  in  great  numbers,  and  grow  with 
amazing  quickness.  They  commonly  appear  about  the  root  of  the  tail,  or 
wherever  filth  has  allowed  the  fly  to  attach  her  eggs,  and  thence  they  spread 
over  the  entire  body,  consuming  the  skin  and  eating  into  the  flesh.  The  sheep, 
when  attacked,  manifest  a  strong  sense  of  suffering.  They  frequently  run 
with  violence,  until  at  length,  overpowered  and  exhausted,  they  lie  down  and 
perish. 

It  is  in  moist  and  warm  seasons  of  the  year  that  the  sheep-maggot  is  chiefly 
produced.  Constant  vigilance  is  then  demanded  on  the  part  of  the  shepherd, 
so  that  all  foulness  of  the  wool  shall  be  dipt  away;  and  the  sheep  must  be  daily 
inspected,  lest  this  dangerous  enemy  establish  itself.  The  maggot  is  effectually 
destroyed  by  a  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate,  and  in  its  early  stages  by  less 
potent  applications,  as  by  urine  and  lime. 

We  must  remember  that  the  sheep,  in  his  domesticated  state,  is  yielded  up 
to  the  care  of  man:  his  natural  instincts  are  blunted,  and  he  is  unfitted  to  use 
those  means  of  preservation  which  in  his  wild  state  he  might  possess.  He  is 
the  prey  of  a  multitude  of  enemies,  against  which  he  has  no  defence;  and  the 
more  artificial  his  condition  is,  the  more  is  he  dependent  on  our  care. 

The  hot,  the  oestrus  of  the  sheep,  although  smaller  than  the 
bot  of  the  horse,  is  nevertheless  a  most  formidable  insect;  body 
of  a  dark  brown  colour,  spotted  with  white,  the  white  sometimes 
prevailing  so  much  as  to  give  a  greyish  hue  to  the  fly.  It  abounds 
most  in  June  and  July,  and  may  be  found  on  rails  in  the  vicinity 
of  cluinps  of  trees  or  underwood,  and  ma}'^  then  be  easily  crush- 
ed or  destroyed,  if  the  farmer  will  but  make  himself  acquaint- 
ed with  it.  If  only  one  of  them  appears,  the  whole  flock  is 
struck  with  terror;  and  if  there  is  any  place  in  the  field  devoid 
of  pasture  the  sheep  crowd  to  it,  turning  their  heads  towards 
the  centre  of  the  group,  with  their  muzzles  to  the  sand,  and 
their  feet  in  continual  motion  in  order  to  secure  themselves 
from  the  attack  of  their  foe. 

Thejli/  endeavours  to  get  at  the  inner  margin  of  the  nostril, 
and  darting  upon  it  with  the  quickness  of  lightning,  deposits 
her  egg.  The  warmth  and  moisture  of  the  part  speedily  hatch 
it,  and  the  little  worm  escapes.  It  crawls  up  the  nostril,  it 
threads  all  the  sinuosities  of  the  passage,  and  finds  its  way  to 
some  of  the  sinuses  connected  with  the  nose.  The  irritation  it 
produces  in  its  travels  is  exceedingly  great;  the  poor  animal 
gallops  furiously  about,  snorting  violently,  and  almost  mad- 
dened by  the  annoyance.  The  worm  at  length  reaches  some 
of  the  convolutions  of  the  turbinated  bones  of  the  nose,  or  the 
antrum  or  cavity  of  the  upper  jaws,  or  the  frontal  sinuses,  it 
fastens  itself  on  the  membrane  by  the  two  hooks  with  which, 
like  other  bots,  it  is  provided,  and  there  it  remains  until  April 
or  May  in  the  succeeding  year.  There  are  seldom  more  than 
three  or  four  of  these  bots  in  each  sheep;  and  when  they  have 
reached  their  appointed  home,  they  are  harmless.  Some  strange 
but  groundless  stories  have  been  told  of  gleet  from  the  nose. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  339 

giddiness,  and  inflammation  of  the  brain  having  been  produced 
from  them.*  . 

Sheep,  it  is  seen,  are  generally  pastured  in  summer,  and  then- 
winter  keep,  on  all  good  farms,  consists  of  an  abundant  supply 
of  roots,  good  sweet  hay,  &c.  with  free  access  to  air  and  water. 
Sheep  require  air  and  exercise  to  some  extent  in  the  coldest 
weather.  It  will  not  answer  for  us  to  adopt  the  English  sys- 
tem of  letting  them  run  at  large,  for  it  is  a  well  established 
fact,  that  sheep,  as  well  as  cattle,  thrive  better,  and  are  not  so 
much  disposed  to  sickness  during  the  summer,  if  they  are 
sheltered  from  the  storms  and  cold  of  the  preceding  winter. 
The  sheep-house  should  be  well  ventilated,  with  a  yard  at- 
tached in  which  the  sheep  may  exercise  themselves  at  pleasure 
in  all  fair  weather.  Owing  to  the  variety  of  breeds,  the  great 
diversity  in  the  surface  of  our  country,  the  variations  of  cli- 
mate, and  other  circumstances  combined,  it  is  impossible  to  lay 
down  any  fixed  or  specific  rules  applicable  to  the  management 
of  sheep  in  all  parts  of  the  Union. 

There  are,  however,  some  points  of  universal  application — 
these  relate  to  the  breed  or  character  of  the  animal.  Every 
farmer  should  select  the  best  and  purest  blood ;  and  the  treatment 
of  his  flock  must  be  most  kind  and  gentle;  they  should  never 
be  teased,  worried,  or  submitted  to  the  care  of  inexperienced 
persons,  or  persons  of  ill  and  ungovernable  temper;  such  per- 
sons invariably  do  more  harm  than  good  on  a  farm,  and  the 
farmer  should  shun  them  as  he  would  the  rot.  If  your  sheep 
have  been  well  summered,  and  you  have  a  good  supply  of  the 
sugar  beet,t  which  is  the  best  article  for  fattening  sheep  that 
I  am  acquainted  with,  you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  carrying 
your  flock  easily  and  comfortably  through  the  winter,  however 
severe;  and  at  the  springing  of  the  early  grass  they  are  in  good 

condition.  ,7.2.  j 

It  is  common  with  some  farmers  to  soil  their  sheep,  and 
others,  by  adopting  the  plan  of  stall-feeding,  think  they  have 
derived  peculiar  advantages  thereby.  The  course  of  treatment 
by  gentlemen  who  have  adopted  this  system  is  given  in  the 
Appendix.  These  accounts  cannot  properly  be  called  experi- 
ments, as  they  constitute  a  regular  portion  of  farm-practice, 
and  may  therefore  be  considered  conclusive.  See  Appendix. 
The  age  of  a  sheep  may  be  known  by  examining  the  front 
teeth,  which  are  eight  in  number,  and  appear  during  the  first 
year,  all  of  small  size.  In  the  second  year,  the  two  middle 
teeth  fall  out,  and  their  place  is  supplied  by  two  new  ones, 

*  Penny  Cyclopsedia.  .-  1    -d    .  .,  ia-r 

t  For  the  superior  excellence  of  this  root  for  stock,  see  article  Beet,  p.  131. 

33* 


390  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

which  are  readily  distinguished  by  their  being  of  a  larger  size. 
In  the  third  year,  two  other  small  teeth  drop  out,  one  from 
each  side,  and  are  replaced  by  two  large  ones,  so  that  there  are 
now  four  large  teeth  in  the  middle,  and  two  pointed  ones  on 
each  side.  In  the  fourth  year  the  large  teeth  are  six  in  num- 
ber, and  two  small  ones  remain,  one  at  each  end  of  the  range. 
In  the  fifth  year,  the  remaining  small  teeth  are  lost,  and  the 
whole  front  teeth  are  large.  In  the  sixth  year,  the  whole 
begin  to  be  worn,  and  in  the  seventh,  sometimes  sooner,  some 
fall  out  or  are  broken. 


V.    THE  HOG. 

Species  and  Variefics.  Of  the  genns  Sus  three  species  are  peculiar  to  the 
Old  ContincDt  and  its  islands: — 1.  Sus  bab)Tussa — The  Babyroussa,  confined 
to  the  Indian  Archipelago.  2.  Sus  larvatus — The  African  Boar,  a  very  fierce 
and  powerful  creature,  living  in  holes,  and  never  yet  domesticated.  3.  Sus 
aper— The  Wild  Boar. 

Of  these  species,  the  most  widely  distributed,  and  the  most  important,  is  the 
•wild  boar.  He  is  found  in  Europe,  Africa,  Asia,  and  the  islands  of  the 
Eastern  seas.     He  is  the  parent  stock  of  the  domestic  hog  and  its  varieties. 

The  wild  boar  is  a  bold  and  powerful  animal.  He  dwells  for  the  most  part, 
in  moist  and  shady  situations,  and  he  feeds  chiefly  on  plants  and  roots.  In  a 
state  of  nature  his  senses  are  acute,  his  ears  very  moveable,  and  his  touch  and 
smell  so  delicate,  as  to  lead  him  to  his  food  below  ground,  which  he  grubs  up 
■with  his  strong  and  flexible  trunk,  and  this  faculty  he  retains  when  in  a  state 
of  slavery. 

The  female  carries  her  young  about  four  months,  and  she  is  rarely  seen 
with  the  males  but  in  the  rutting  season.  She  suckles  her  young  for  several 
months,  and  retains  them  near  her  for  a  considerable  time  afterwards,  to  de- 
fend them.  When  assailed,  she  protects  her  oflspring  with  amazing  courage, 
and  the  young  reward  her  cares  by  a  long  attachment.  She  is  sometimes  seen 
to  be  followed  by  several  families,  forming  a  troop,  formidable  to  their  assail- 
ants, and  destructive,  by  their  ravages,  to  the  cultivated  fields.  A  remarkable 
contrast  with  the  long  cares  of  the  female,  is  the  solitary  habit  of  the  adult 
male,  who  will  even,  at  their  birth,  destroy  his  own  young, — a  singular  in- 
stinct of  nature,  given  for  some  purpose  that  is  unknown  to  us. 

Although  the  domestic  hog  loses  many  of  the  characters  of  the  wild  race, 
he  retains  enough  of  them  to  prove  his  affinity;  and  all  question  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  his  origin  is  removed  by  the  change  produced  upon  his  progenj-  by  do- 
mestication. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  circumstances  in  the  histor\'of  the  domestic 
hog  is,  his  general  distribution  over  so  many  countries  and  distant  islands, 
where  no  trace  of  any  wild  animal  of  the  species  exists  in  record  or  tradition. 
He  was  found  extensively  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Sea,  when  first  visited 
by  European  voyagers,  furnishing  the  principal  animal  food  of  the  natives: 
and  he  exists  in  vast  numbers  m  China,  and  the  islands  of  the  east.  But 
■what  is  remarkable,  he  is  not  indigenous  in  America,  but  was  carried  thither 
by  the  Spaniards;  and  he  is  not  found  amongst  the  quadrupeds  of  New  Hol- 
land, though  he  has  now  multiplied  greatly  there.  This  universal  diffusion 
he  seems  to  owe  to  his  extraordmary  fecundity,  his  adaptation  to  every  cli- 
mate, and  the  facility  with  which  he  may  be  transported  from  one  place  to 
another. 

The  hog,  though  chiefly  herbivorous  in  his  natural  state,  maybe  fed  equally 
well  on  animal  food.  It  is  this  which  renders  him  the  most  easily  and  cheaply 
reared  of  all  the  domestic  quadrupeds. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


391 


_  _  Like  the  horse,  the  ox,  and  the  sheep,  the  hog:  is  aflected  in  Iiis  character, 
size,  and  form  by  the  physical  state  of  the  countries  in  which  he  is  naturalized. 
But  he  is  more  the  creature  of  artilicial  feeding  than  the  sheep,  the  ox,  or  the 
horse;  and  hence  his  size  is  not  so  much  dependent  on  the  nature  of  the  coun- 
try in  which  lie  is  reared.  To  the  variations  produced  on  him  bv  external 
causes,  we  apply,  as  in  the  case  of  other  animals,  the  term  breeds. 

Among  the  various  articles  of  live-stock,  few  are  more  pro- 
fitable to  the  breeder  than  swine,  while  the  number  kept  on  a 
farm  is  proportioned  to  the  quantity  of  offal  on  the  premises: 
especially  as  the  attendance  they  require  is,  when  compared 
with  that  of  others,  very  trifling,  and  the  benefit  arising  from 
their  dung  more  than  counterbalances  such  attendance.  The 
characteristic  marks  of  a  good  hog  are,  a  moderate  length, 
as  to  the  carcass  in  general;  the  head  and  cheeks  being  plump 
and  full,  and  the  neck  thick  and  short;  bone  fine;  quarters 
full;  the  carcass  thick  and  full;  his  bristly  hide  fine  and  thin: 
the  symmetry  or  proportion  of  the  whole  well  adapted  to  the 
respective  breeds  or  varieties;  and  above  all,  a  kindly  disposi- 
tion to  fatten  early. 

In  consequence  of  the  numerous  sorts  and  varieties  of  these 
animals,  found  in  almost  every  country,  it  is  scarcely  possible 
to  ascertain  which  are  the  original  breeds;  under  this  head, 
therefore,  but  little  more  can  he  attempted  than  a  brief  notice 
of  those  most  generally  esteemed,  and  known  under  the  fol- 
lowing denominations: 


Thk  ChiiNese  Hog. 

The  Chinese  breed,  of  the  ereneral  appearance  of  which,  the  abov^e  is  a 
tolerably  correct  delineation,  when  fat,  were  originally  obtained,  as  their  name 
imports,  from  China.  Of  these  there  are  two  nearly  distinct  kinds:  the  inhiU 
and  the  black:  both  are  small;  and  although  of  an  extraordinary  disposition  to 
fatten,  will  seldom  arrive  to  a  greater  weight  than  two  to  two  hundred  and 
filty  pounds,  at  two  years  of  age.  The  former  are  better  shaped  than  the  lat- 
ter; but  they  are  less  hardy  and  less  prolific* 

The  Chinese  hog  is  of  the  widely  extended  Siamese  breed  of  the  east,  a  race 
which  extends  from  the  Continent  to  the  islands  of  Sumatra,  New  Guinea  and 


*  Complete  Grazier. 


392 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


others,  and  to  all  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas.  The  true  Siamese  breed  has 
the  skin  of  a  rich  copper  colour,  but,  like  all  the  domesticated  animals,  the 
colour  varies  with  conditions  of  climate,  food,  and  culture.  In  China  the 
colour  is  often  white,  and  it  is  with  the  varieties  deiived  from  China,  that  we 
are' the  most  familiar  in  this  country. 

The  Chinese  ho^  is  fur  the  most  part  less  than  the  common  swine  of  Eu- 
rope and  America,  but  it  is  distinguished  by  its  peculiar  aptitude  to  fatten.  Its 
bones  are  small,  its  limbs  short,  its  ears  erect,  its  skin  and  bristles  soft,  and  its 
general  aspect  delicate. 

The  introduction  of  this  race  has  insensibly  produced  a  great  change  in 
the  character  of  all  the  breeds  now  cultivated.  It  has  been  made  to  cross 
the  greater  number  of  them.  It  has  diminished  the  size,  but  removed  the  for- 
mer coarseness  of  form,  and  increased  the  aptitude  to  fatten.  The  pure  breed 
is  little  cultivated,  and  it  is  through  the  medium  therefore  of  its  crosses  with 
the  native  stock,  that  its  value  is  chiefly  known.  In  this  respect,  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  eastern  hog  into  other  countries  has  been  singularly  beneficial. 


'■ft-i  =-j^— 


The  BERKsmRE  Bejeed. 
The  animals  from  which  the  above  figures  were  drawn,  were  bred  by  the  late 
Sir  William  Curtis,  and  attracted  univeral  admiration.  They  were  of  the 
Berkshire  breed;  the  specific  characters  of  which  are  a  reddish  colour,  with 
brown  or  black  spots;  sides  very  broad;  body  thick,  close,  and  well  formed; 
short  legs;  the  head  well  placed,"  and  the  ears  large,  and  generally  standing 
forward;  but  sometimes  pendant  over  the  eyes.  Another  distinctive  mark  of 
this  breed  is,  that  the  best  are  without  bristles;  their  hair  is  long  and  curly, 
and  from  its  rough  appearance,  seems  to  indicate  coarse  skin  and  flesh;  but 
in  fact,  both  are  fine,  and  the  bacon  is  of  very  superior  quality.  The  hogs 
arrive  at  a  very  large  size,  and  have  been  reared  even  to  the  weight  of  nine 
hundred  pounds.  The  Berkshire  was  the  earliest  of  the  improved  breeds  of 
England,  and  is  now  the  most  generally  difi"used  of  all  others,  in  that  country 
and  in  the  United  Slates;  in  both  of  which  it  is  very  justly  regarded  as  otie 
of  the  superior  breeds,  combining  good  size  with  an  aptitude  to  fatten..  This 
improved  and  valuable  breed  has  been  undoubtedly  formed  by  a  judicious  mix- 
ture of  the  blood  of  the  Chinese  or  Eastern  hog  with  the  native  breed  of  Eng- 
land. The  great  improver  was  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Astley,  of  Old- 
stone-hall.  The  importation  of  this  breed  into  the  United  States,  within  a 
few  years  past,  has  been  quite  extensive — it  still  continues — and  as  the  Berk- 
shire has  become  a  general  favourite  among  many  of  our  farmers,  we  may 
anticipate  the  best  results  from  their  wide  difi'usion  and  amalgamation  with 
the  best  of  our  present  breeds.* 

♦  Indeed,  a  great  change  has  taken  place  in  this  particular,  and  it  is  a  rare 
circumstance  indeed,  to  meet  with,  at  the  present  day,  in  our  improved  agri- 
cultural districts,  even  a  remnant  of  the  "old  fashioned,  thin,  long-legged, 
long-nosed,  gaunt-bodies,  ugly  race  of  hogs  of  former  days."  Pennsylvania 
has  ever  been  noted  for  thepeculiar  excellence  of  her  swine;  but  other  states, 
it  would  seem  are  now  in  a  fair  wav  to  take  the  lead. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


393 


The  Sussex  breed  is  either  a  variety  of  the  Essex,  just  described,  or,  as  some 
assert,  the  original  stock.  It  is  smaller  than  the  Berkshire,  and  of  very  hand- 
some form,  the  general  size  when  full  grown  seldom  exceeding  two  hundred 
and  eighty  pounds.  The  bone  is  not  particularly  small,  but  it  is  clean;  the 
animal  is  of  a  kindly  disposition  to  fatten,  and  arrives  at  maturity  sooner 
than  any  other  kind. 

The  bisHLEV  BREED,  which  were  at  one  time  as  celebrated  as  all  the  other 
kinds  of  Mr.  Bakewell's  stock,  are  remarkably  fine  boned  and  delicate,  and 
are  supposed  to  be  partly  descended  from  crosses  of  the  Berkshire  and  Chi- 
nese. They  were  certainly  carried  to  great  perfection,  and  have  reached  to 
considerable  weight  in  a  very  small  compass,  being,  when  fat.  nearly  equal  in 
height,  length,  and  thickness;  their  bellies  nearly  touching  the  ground,  and 
their  eyes  scarcelv  to  be  seen  for  fat;  the  whole  carcass  appearing  a  solid  mass 
of  flesh.  The  form  of  these  pigs  possesses  considerable  beauty,  and  is  well 
calculated  to  lay  on  a  large  quantity  of  meat,  compared  with  their  bone  and 
ofl'al.  They  also  keep  themselves  in  good  condition  on  a  moderate  quantity 
of  food,  and'  are  easily  fattened. 

Such  are  their  general  characteristics:  but  to  these  merits  there  are  said  to 
be  opposed  very  considerable  defects.  They  have  been  found  rflow  of  growth, 
tender  constitutioned,  and  to  require  proportionally  more  food  in  fattening 
than  the  large  breeds.  It  should,  however,  be  remarked,  that  the  experiment 
upon  which  the  latter  assertion  is  foimded.  was  made  by  feeding  fvo  Dishley 
hogs  against  one  from  a  cross  between  a  Berkshire  and  a  large  white  Shrop-. 
shire  hog;  and  that  while  the  Dishleys  consumed  jof?!//?/ the  most  food,  the 
other  weighed  singly  more  than  the  two.  This,  however,  is  not  alone  deci- 
sive of  their  respective  merits,  which  could  only  be  accurately  ascertained  b)' 
a  reference  to  the  butcher;  as  a  material  difference  would  no  doubt  arise  in 
favour  of  the  sale  of  two  small  animals,  when  opposed  to  that  of  a  single 
large  one. 


The  Woburn  Breed. 

The  Woburn-  breed  is  a  new  variety,  introduced  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
and  hence  sometimes  called  the  Bedford  breed.  They  are  of  various  colours, 
well-formed,  hardy,  very  prolific,  kindly  disposed  to  fatten,  and  have  attained 
to  nearly  twice  the  weight  of  some  other  hogs  within  the  same  given  period  t>f 
time.  This  breed  has  been  imported  into  this  country,  and  is  highly  esteem- 
ed by  many  of  our  farmers;  they  are  justly  acquiring  great  celebrity. 

Besides  these  there  are: — 

The  Hampshire,  the  specific  characters  of  which  are — colour  chiefly  white; 
neck  and  carcass  long,  and  the  body  not  so  well  formed  as  the  Berkshire  pigs; 
but  they  fatten  kindly  to  a  very  great  size  and  weight,  and  make  excellent 
bacon. 

Tiie  Nortliavipton.  which  are  also  white,  with  very  short  legs,  ears  enor- 
mously large,  often  sweeping  the  ground;  size  large,  with  coarse  bone  and 
hair,  and  many  bristles.  They  fatten  to  a  great  size,  but  not  very  kindly,  and 
are  reared  chiefly  in  the  county  of  Northampton. 

The  Shropshire,  which  appear  to  be  a  variety  of  the  Northampton  lace,  to 


394  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

•whose  characteristics  they  bear  a  o:reat  resemblance:  fattening  to  a  large  size, 
but  not  so  kindly  disposed  as  the  Berkshire:  yet  they  are  both  favourites  with 
the  distillers,  who  seem  to  require  a  coarse  heavy  pig  to  consume  their  wa-sh 
and  grains  with  advantage. 

The  Yorkshire,  which  are  similar  in  colour  to  the  Berkshire  but  -withlonger 
ears  and  coarser  hair.  They  have  long  legs,  flat  sides,  and  are  coarse  in  the 
bone;  they  are  also  slow  feeders;  but,  for  the  reasons  already  assigned,  they, 
a.s  well  as  the  Northampton  and  Shropshire,  are  in  esteem  with  the  distillers. 

The  Lincolnshire,  with  well-formed  heads,  and  ears  of  a  medium  size  point- 
ing forwards,  and  curled  at  the  lips;  they  are  long  and  straigiit  from  the  bead 
to  the  tail,  and  of  sutficient  breadth;  round  in  the  carcass  and  deep  in  the 
sides;  the  skin  and  hair  thin.  The  true  bred  pigs  of  this  race  are  white,  and 
rather  tender;  but  they  reach  to  thirty  stone,  of  fourteen  pounds,  and  in  point 
of  profit  may  be  ranked  next  to  the  Berkshire.  This  breed  is  also  well  known 
(with  some  occasional  variation)  as  the  Norfolk  and  Suffolk.  The  Cheshire, 
of  various  colours,  but  chiefly  marked  with  broad  patches  of  black,  or  blue, 
and  white,  have  large  heads,  with  long  pendant  ears;  are  of  a  great  length, 
but  proportionably  narrow;  curved  in  the  back  and  flat-sided:  large-boned  and 
long-legged,  with  much  loose  skiu,  and  altogether  ill-formed:  but  they  grow 
to  an  exTraordinary  weight,  and  are  the  largest  kind  of  pigs  in  the  kingdom 
except 

The  RcDCAvicK  breed,  which  take  their  name  from  a  village  on  the  boarders 
of  Surrey  and  Sussex,  and  are  remarkable  for  the  enormous  size  to  which 
they  reach;  each  of  these  breeds  has  its  several  advocate.^;  but  as  their  respec- 
tive value  does  not,  as  jn  other  .species  of  stock,  depend  on  soil  and  situation, 
these  differences  of  opinion  can  only  be  ascribed  to  the  want  of  suflicient  com- 
parative experiments,  or  to  prejudice.  A  very  competent,  and  apparently  a 
very  candid  judge  of  the  merits  of  the  principal  kinds,  gives  it  as  his  decided 
opinion  that  the  Berkshire  rough-haired,  feather-eared,  curled  pigs,  are  supe- 
rior in  form  and  flesh  to  all  others,  even  to  the  best  Chinese. 

With  regard  to  these  two  breeds,  that  opinion  must  have  been  formed  on 
fair  experiments  and  due  consideration  of  their  respectiv'e  value,  for  he  men- 
tions having  fatted  a  Chinese  sow  to  the  weight  of  five  hundred  and  sixty 
pounds  at  three  and  a  half  years  old,  and  the  quality  of  the  bacon  of  both  kinds, 
fatted  and  cured  alike,  was  decided  by  a  party  of  genilenien  at  Lord  Contng- 
H.*.M*s  table  in  favour  of  the  Berkshire.  In  this  we  so  far  unhesitatingly  coin- 
cide; but  from  all  the  other  information  we  have  collected  on  the  subject,  we 
are  inclined  to  think  that  Air.  Western's  Essex  breed,  razy  fairly  compete 
with  either;  and  the  Woburn  breed,  has  not  yet  been  sufficiently  tried  to  ad- 
mit of  a  decisive  comparison. 

To  these  also,  there  must,  in  justice  be  added,  a  breed  partaking  of  the 
Essex  blood  and  generally  known  as  the  Essex  and  Hartford  breed.  It  was  in- 
troduced by  Mr.  Dodd,  of  Chenies,  in  Buckinghamshire,  (a  most  successful 
breeder.) 

The  Essex  black  pig,  descentlents  of  the  Berkshires,  are 
reckoned,  according  to  the  Editor  of  the  Complete  Grazier, 
among  the  finest  breeds.*     He  describes  them  as  black  and 

*  Mr.  Samiel  D.  Martin,  in  a  communication  to  the  Editor  of  the  Franklin 
(Kentucky)  Farmer,  speaks  of  this  breed  in  the  highest  terms,  and  recom- 
mends them  to  the  notice  of  his  brother  farmers,  as  being  better  adapted  to 
rearing  in  that  state  than  almost  any  other  breed  whatever.  Their  excel- 
lence, he  says,  consists  in  their  early  maturity,  large  size, the  ease  with  which 
they  fatten,  hardiness,  productiveness,  and  being  excellent  travellers.  He 
states,  that  a  pig  of  this  breed,  sold  to  a  Mr.  Phelps,  when  seven  months  old, 
was  weighed  every  ten  days,  and  found  to  increase  fifteen  pounds,  or  a  pound 
and  a  half  per  day.  As  an  in.^tance  of  their  capacity  to  take  on  fat,  he  cites 
another  instance  of  a  boar,  weighing  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  pounds;  in 
thirty  days  he  was  weished  again,  and  was  found  to  have  gained  prccisehj  one 
hundred  pounds,  a  fraction  over  three  pounds  per  day. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  395 

white,  short-haired,  fine  skinned,  smaller  heads  and  ears  than 
the  Berkshire;  but  the  latter  are  feathered  with  inside  hair, 
which  is  a  distinctive  mark  of  both;  short,  snubby  noses;  very 
fine  bone,  broad  and  deep  in  the  belly,  full  in  the  hind-quar- 
ters, but  light  in  the  bone  and  offal;  the  sows  are  good  breeders, 
and  bring  litters  from  eight  to  twelve.  They  have  the  charac- 
ter of  being  bad  nurses.  They  feed  remarkably  quick,  grow 
fast,  and  produce  meat  of  a  most  excellent  quality.  Mr. 
Western,  of  Felix  Hall,  took  great  pains  in  the  improvement 
of  the  race. 

We  have,  as  before  observed,  a  variety  of  breeds  of  native 
growth,  or  crosses  with  foreign  importation,  possessing  many 
very  superior  traits  of  excellence.  E.  Phinney,  Esq.,  one  of 
the  most  intelligent,  public  spirited,  and  successful  farmers  of 
this  country,  has  on  his  place  in  Massachusetts,  a  variety 
called  the  Mackey  breed,  which  have  taken  several  premiums 
at  Brighton  and  other  fairs.  This  breed  is  very  highly  es- 
teemed throughout  New  England,  and  has  been  introduced 
into  New  York  by  that  indefatigable  agriculturist  Caleb  N. 
Bement,  Esq.,  who  has  been  engaged  in  an  experiment  by 
crossing  them  with  the  Chinese  and  the  Berkshire.  The  re- 
sults have  not  yet  transpired.  For  Mr.  Phinney's  method  of 
treatment  see  Appendix. 

Form. — The  same  external  characters  indicate,  in  the  hog,  a  disposition  to 
fatten  as  in  the  other  live-stock;  and  there  is  no  other  animal  which  can  be 
made  by  cultivation  to  present  so  great  a  combination  of  these  characters,  or 
which  can  be  so  easily  improved  in  its  form,  from  the  facility  with  which  it 
receives  the  character  of  its  parents,  and  from  its  rapid  powers  of  increase. 
The  chest  should  be  deep  and  broad,  the  ribs  largely  arched,  the  neck  short, 
and  the  head  and  limbs  small;  the  bristles  should  be  soft,  approaching  to  hair, 
and  the  skin  soft  and  elastic. 

Rearing  mid  feeding. — The  sow  goes  with  young  112  days.  She  is  fit  to 
receive  the  male  in  the  first  year  of  her  age,  and  the  latter  is  able  to  propagate 
his  species  at  the  same  early  period,  but  he  should  be  at  least  12  months  old 
before  he  is  admitted  to  the  female.  The  female  produces  from  5  to  10  or  more 
at  a  birth,  and  she  can  easilj'  be  made  to  produce  and  rear  two  litters  in  the 
year;  and  she  may  even  rear  five  in  two  years.  She  is  ready  to  receive  the 
male  soon  after  the  birth  of  her  young;  but  the  time  should  be  chosen  which 
allows  her  to  produce  her  litter  at  the  most  convenient  season.  Thus,  if  she  is 
to  be  made  to  litter  twice  in  one  year,  the  first  should,  if  possible,  be  produced 
about  the  beginning  of  April,  and  the  second  about  tlie  beginning  of  Septem- 
ber, so  that  the  last  litter  may  gain  full  strength  before  the  arrival  of  cold 
weather. 

When  the  sow  is  with  young,  she  should  not  be  wholly  confined  to  a  pen, 
but  be  suffered  to  walk  at  large  in  a  yard  or  other  convenient  place,  care  being 
taken  that,  as  the  time  of  producing  her  young  draws  on,  she  shall  not  be 
crowded  with  others,  lest  she  be  injured  by  their  feet. 

The  time  when  she  is  about  to  produce  her  litter  will  be  known  by  her  car- 
rying straw  in  her  mouth  to  make  her  bed.  Before  this,  however,  she  should 
have  been  separated  from  her  fellows  and  carefully  littered.  The  straw  should 
be  short,  and  not  in  too  great  quantity,  lest  the  pigs,  nestling  beneath  it  unper- 
ceived  by  the  dam,  be  crushed  by  her  when  she  lies  down. 

While  nursing,  she  should  be  well  fed,  and  the  pigs  accustomed  to  feed  from 
a  trough  on  milk,  whey,  or  any  liquid  food,  mixed  with  a  little  meal  or  bran. 


396  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

In  30  days  the  males  may  be  castrated,  and  a  like  operation,  though  not  abso- 
lutely necessary,  may  be  performed  upon  the  females  at  the  same  time. 

During  the  period  of  nursing,  the  dam  and  her  3-oung  should  be  lodged  dry 
and  warm.  They  should  be  fed  three  times  in  the  day  with  whey,  milk,  and 
a  little  water  slightl}'  warm,  mixed  with  bran,  meal,  or  any  farinaceous  sub- 
stance, and  when  the  pigs  are  in  the  course  of  feeding  from  the  troughs,  the 
mother  may  be  allowed  to  go  at  large  for  an  hour  or  two. 

In  six  weeks,  if  they  are  well  fed,  the  pigs  may  be  weaned,  but  should  they 
not  have  been  well  fed,  eight  weeks  will  be  required.  When  weaned,  they  are 
to  be  fed  three  times  a  day  with  wheat-bran,  barley-dust,  or  any  farinaceous 
food,  mi.xed  with  water  warmed  to  the  temperature  of  the  mother's  milk,  and 
with  whey,  or  other  refuse  of  the  dairy  or  the  kitchen.  In  a  few  weeks  they 
■will  begin  to  eat  potatoes,  turnips,  and  all  other  food. 

The  young  pigs  are  sometimes  disposed  of  when  sucking  the  dam.  In  other 
cases  they  are  sold  when  weaned  to  persons  who  design  to  feed  them;  and  in 
other  cases  the)'  are  fed  by  the  breeder  himself. 

When  they  are  fattened  by  the  breeder,  two  modeS  of  feeding  may  he  adopted. 
They  may  be  either  suffered  to  go  at  large,  or  they  may  be  kept  in  pens  and 
hou.scs.  By  the  first  of  these  methods,  after  being  weaned  and  fed  for  a  period 
till  they  are  able  to  shift  for  themselves,  they  are  turned  abroad  to  pick  up  what 
they  can  in  the  straw-yards,  a  little  green  food,  as  tares  or  clover  during  sum- 
mer, and  turnips  or  potatoes  during  winter  being  supplied  to  them.  They  do 
not,  under  this  management,  receive  any  more  expensive  feeding  until  they 
are  put  up  finally  to  be  fattened,  when  they  are  confined  for  a  few  weeks,  and 
fed  on  farinaceous  and  other  food.  The  pigs  intended  for  this  species  of  man- 
agement should  be  the  best  of  the  smaller  varieties;  and  they  may  be  killed 
for  domestic  use,  or  disposed  of  when  of  7  or  8  stones  weight.  All  the  accom- 
modation required  under  this  system  of  management,  is  a  few  pens  with  sheds; 
first,  for  the  breeding  swine  when  nursing  their  young;  and  second,  for  the  pigs 
which  are  in  the  course  of  being  fattened. 

In  all  cases  upon  a  farm,  a  certain  number  of  pigs  may  be  kept  at  large  in 
this  manner  for  picking  up  the  waste  of  the  farm-yarcis.  But  the  regular 
course  of  management,  and  that  to  be  adopted  where  the  feeding  of  the  ani- 
mals is  carried  on  on  the  larger  scale,  is  to  have  separate  feeding  houses  fo# 
the  pigs,  in  which  a  greater  or  lesser  number  can  be  kept. 

The  same  general  principle  of  feeding  applies  to  the  hog  as  to  the  other 
domestic  animals.  The  breeding  stock  is  to  be  kept  in  good  order,  but  not 
over-fed;  the  feeding  stock  is  to  receive  a  full  allowance  of  good  food  from  the 
period  of  weaning  until  it  is  fat. 

The  food  of  the  feeding  pigs  is  every  kind  of  animal  refuse,  as  that  of  the 
dairy  and  kitchen.  Roots  of  any  kind,  raw  and  boiled,  will  be  eaten  by  them; 
but  it  is  better  that  this  species  of  food  be  boiled  or  steamed.  Bran  steamed 
JOT  boiled,  is  likewise  a  nourishing  food  for  pigs;  beans  and  peas  bruised  may 
be  also  given  to  them;  and  brewers'  grains  and  wash  furnish  one  of  the  best 
kinds  of  food  that  can  be  supplied;  but  the  pork  will  not  take  and  retain  the 
salt  as  readily  as  that  fed  on  more  solid  and  substantial  food.  Hay  or  dried 
fodder  is  not  relished  by  this  class  of  animals:  they  require  food  of  a  moist 
and  succulent  kind,  and  therefore,  though  they  dislike  dried  forage,  they  will 
not  refuse  hay  and  even  straw  if  chopped  and  boiled.  They  feed  on  green 
food  of  all  kinds;  and  hence  clover,  lucerne,  and  tares  may  be  employed  in 
feeding  them  in  summer,  though  to  fatten  them  finally  some  farinaceous  or 
other  nourishing  food  will  be  required.  They  will  also  graze  like  sheep  or 
oxen,  but  grass  consumed  in  this  manner  is  not  the  natural  food  of  the  animal, 
which  consists  of  roots  rather  than  of  herbage.  The  feeding  of  pigs  on  herb- 
age, is  merely  to  carry  them  on  for  a  time  till  more  fattening  food  can  be  pro- 
cured for  them.  When  fed  on  herbage,  a  ring  must  be  passed  through  the 
cartilage  of  the  nose,  to  prevent  their  following  their  natural  instinct  of 
ploughing  up  the  ground,  but  the  same  purpose  may  be  more  effectually 
served,  by  dividing  the  tendons  by  which  they  are  enabled  to  move  the  snout. 
Acorns  and  beech-mast  are  a  favourite  food  of  the  hog,  but  these  are  rarely 
furnished  in  sufficient  quantity  for  the  purpose  of  feeding,  though  in  cases 
Avhcre  there  is  access  to  woods'producing  these  fruits,  hogs  may  be  turned  into 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  397 

forests  with  advantage.  All  kinds  of  spoiled  or  waste  fruits  may  be  given  to 
them;  and  in  the  cider  districts  accordingly,  the  refuse  of  the  cider  press  is 
employed  for  feeding  them.  In  short,  the  animal  is  omnivorous,  and  there  is 
not  any  species  of  animal  or  vegetable  food  which  may  not  be  given;  and  in 
the  case  of  no  other  of  the  larger  animals  accordingly  is  the  process  of  feed- 
ing so  simple. 

Pigs  ought  to  be  fed  three  times  in  the  day,  and  the  troughs  in  which  the 
food  is  placed  should  be  emptied  before  a  fresh  supply  is  given,  and  kept  per- 
fectly clean.  It  is  M'ell  to  vary  their  food,  to  mix  it  with  water  or  other  liquid, 
and  not  to  overload  them  by  too  much  at  a  time.  It  is  a  great  error  to  leave 
these  animals  in  a  state  of  filth  and  neglect.  The  hog  is  not  a  filthy  animal 
by  choice;  he  delights  in  a  clean  bed;  he  will  wallow  indeed  in  the  mire  like 
the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  and  other  thick-skinned  animals  to  which  he  be- 
longs; but  this  is  not  because  he  prefers  filth,  but  because  he  loves  coolness 
and  moisture. 

There  are  two  purposes  for  Avhich  pigs  may  be  fattened.  The  one  is  to 
yield  pork,  which  may  he  used  either  fresh,  salted,  or  pickled,  and  the  other 
is  to  produce  bacon,  which  is  prepared  by  salting  and  drying  the  flesh.  When 
fed  for  pork,  which  is  the  most  convenient  system  in  the  practice  of  the  farm, 
the  pigs  may  be  reared  to  the  age  of  6  or  8  months;  when  intended  for  bacon, 
they  must  be  reared  to  a  greater  age  and  size,  as  10  or  12  months.  When  the 
object  is  pork,  the  smaller  class  of  early-feeding  pigs  is  to  be  preferred;  when 
bacon  is  desired,  the  larger  class  should  be  cultivated. 

In  the  case  of  feeding  for  pork  alone,  it  has  been  compttted  that,  upon  a  regu- 
lar farm,  with  a  supply  of  lares  and  clover  to  the  animals  in  summer,  and  of 
potatoes  and  turnips  in  winter,  and  with  no  other  feeding  than  the  refuse  of 
the  barn,  milkhouse,  and  kitchen,  one  pig  may  be  fattened  in  the  year  for  every 
6  acres  of  land  under  corn  crop.  Thus,"supposing  there  are  to  be  240  acres 
in  corn  crop,  the  quantity  of  pigs  fed  annually  upon  the  farm  might  be  40. 
To  feed  this  stock,  in  addition  to  what  they  can  pick  up  in  the  straw-yards, 
about  an  acre  and  a  quarter  of  clover,  and  an  equalquantity  of  potatoes  during 
winter,  will  be  sufficient.  To  keep  up  the  number,  3  breeding  swine  will  be 
required,  of  which  two  should  be  sold  in  each  year,  their  place  being  supplied 
by  an  equal  number  of  younger  ones  reared  upon  the  farm.  The  surplus 
beyond  the  quantity  of  40,  which  it  is  proposed  to  feed,  may  be  disposed  of 
when  weaned.  This  is  a  method  of  management  practicable  upon  ordinary 
farms,  without  any  interference  whatever  with  the  food  and  attention  required 
for  the  larger  stock.* 

Another  method  of  management  may  be  adopted.  This  is  to  take  only  one 
litter  of  pigs  from  each  sow,  to  .sell  the  pigs  as  soon  as  they  are  weaned,  and 
immediately  afterwards  to  feed  the  swine.  This  will  be  a  very  profitable 
species  of  management,  provided  there  is  a  suflicient  demand  in  the  district 
for  so  many  pigs  when  weaned. 

Mr.  Henderson,  in  his  Treatise  on  Swine,  recommends  this  system.  He 
calculates  that  I  sow  for  every  7*  acres  upon  a  farm,  may  be  reared  and  fat- 
tened in  this  manner.  He  proposes  that  the  breeder  shall  purchase,  in  the 
first  place,  20  sow  pigs  and  1  boar  pig,  which  had  been  born  the  beginning 
of  June.  In  the  following  June  all  the  females  will  have  had  pigs.  These 
they  are  to  suckle  for  about  two  months.  The  pigs  are  then  to  be  sold  just 
when  weaned,  except  21,  namely,  20  sow  pigs  and  I  boar  pig;  these  being 
selected  from  those  which  are  of  the  handsomest  shape,  so  that  the  subsequent 
stock  may  be  kept  good  and  uniform.  The  farmer  will  now  be  in  a  situation 
to  go  on  without  farther  outlay  of  money  for  stock.  In  a  month  after  the  pigs 
are  weaned  and  sold,  the  sows  themselves  are  to  be  put  up  to  feed.  This  will  be 
about  the  beginning  of  September.  The  male  must  be  then  admitted  to  them 
so  as  to  render  them  quiet  and  apt  to  feed,  and  in  two  months  they  will  be  fat 
and  of  large  size. 

Pigs,  it  has  been  said,  may  either  be  used  for  pork,  fresh,  salted,  or  pickled, 
when  they  will  be  ready  in  6  or  8  months,  or  for  bacon,  when  they  will  be 
ready  in  10  or  12  months. 

*  Brown  on  Rural  AflTairs. 
34 


398  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

Above  we  have  given  a  detailed  statement  of  the  best  prac- 
tice adopted  abroad  for  the  feeding  and  rearing  of  this  most 
important  and  valuable  animal.  The  practice  of  feeding  in  this 
country  is  more  varied,  and  in  some  instances  entirely  different. 
Maize,  or  Indian  corn,  has  long  been  used  as  the  principal  food 
for  preparing  swine  for  the  market;  the  practice  which  for- 
merly obtained,  even  among  many  of  our  most  thrifty  farmers, 
was  to  let  the  animals  run  at  large,  uncared  for  and  unattended, 
until  such  times  as  they  were  to  be  taken  up  for  fattening.  In 
many  instances  where  the  animals  had  the  range  of  a  forest, 
and  an  abundance  of  nuts,  they  were  generally  in  pretty  good 
condition,  and  required  but  a  few  weeks  attentive  feeding  to 
prepare  them  for  the  butcher;  but  to  effect  this,  a  much  greater 
amount  of  grain  was  used  than  was  absolutely  necessary,  it 
being  almost  universally  fed  out  in  an  uncrushed  and  uncooked 
state. 

Economy  in  the  feeding  of  all  kinds  of  farm  stock  has  en- 
grossed the  attention  of  many  gentlemen;  it  is  a  subject  of  vast 
importance,  not  merely  to  the  individuals  immediately  inter- 
ested, but  to  the  nation  at  large.  From  a  vast  variety  of 
experiments,  made  by  different  persons,  in  all  parts  of  the 
Union,  and  under  almost  every  variety  of  circumstance,  the 
fact  is  established  beyond  all  controversy,  that  so  far  as  swine 
are  concerned,  there  is  a  saving  of  at  least  two-fifths  of  the 
amount  of  the  ordinary  food  requisite  to  fatten  a  hog,  by 
steaming  or  cooking  it.  That  is,  three  bushels  of  grain,  (corn, 
for  instance,)  properly  prepared  by  cooking,  will  go  full  as  far 
towards  fattening  a  hog  as  five  bushels  in  its  raw  and  uncooked 
state. 

The  result  of  an  experiment  is  found  in  the  Annual  Report 
of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Maryland,  instituted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  determining  the  relative  value  of  the  two  methods  of 
feeding.     We  subjoin  the  statement:  it  speaks  for  itself. 

On  the  first  clay  of  December  four  shoats  of  the  same  breed,  nearly  of  a  size, 
and  as  much  alilie  in  every  respect  as  could  be  selected  from  a  herd  of  ninety 
odd  hogs,  were  made  choice  of;  each  carefully  weighed,  and  placed  in  a  single 
stye  where  their  food  could  be  exactly  regulated.  They  weighed  between  81 
pounds  and  100.  The  two  whose  weights  together  made  185  pounds,  were 
fed  on  one  gallon  of  shelled  Indian  corn,  weighing  seven  pounds  to  each,  for 
every  24  hours,  and  as  much  water  as  they  wanted.  This  quantiiy  of  food 
■was  sufficient  for  them;  generally  they  about  consumed  it.  Some  five  or  six 
different  days  between  the  1st  of  December  and  4th  of  January,  the  time  the 
experiment  was  going  on,  they  did  not  eat  their  whole  allowance. 

For  the  two  shoats,  whose  weights  together  made  173  pounds,  seven  pounds 
of  good  Indian  corn  meal,  by  measure  ten  pints,  were  made  into  good  mush, 
or  hasty  pudding,  and  divided  between  them  for  every  twenty-four  hours. 
That  is,  these  two  had  allowed  them  exactly  half  the  weight  of  meal  which 
the  others  had  of  raw  corn.  The  seven  pounds  of  meal  were  daily  mixed 
with  scalding  water,  and  then  well  boiled;  the  whole  process  of  cooking  was 
done  on  an  average  in  Ik  hours.     They  were  all  fed  twice  a  day  and  at  the 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  399 

same  lime.  The  evening  feed  of  the  shoats  fed  on  mush  was  generallj'  warm 
— the  morning  feed,  having  stood  all  night,  was  generally  cold.  The  seven 
pounds,  or  ten  pints  of  meal,  when  cooked,  weighed  an  average  of  thirty 
pounds,  and  measured  an  average  of  three  gallons.  There  was  a  difference 
of  nine  pounds  in  the  weight  of  the  latter  pair — the  smallest  had  the  least 
appetite,  and  his  allowance  of  fifteen  pounds  of  mush  was  just  as  much  as  he 
appeared  to  want  or  would  eat  up  clear;  the  other  was  greedy,  and  always 
sharp  set,  despatched  his  mess  quickly,  and  wanted  more. 

Before  the  experiment  had  progressed  a  fortnight,  there  was  a  very  percep- 
tible ditierence  in  the  appearance  of  these  pigs.  Those  fed  on  the  mush 
assumed  a  more  thrilty,  healthy,  fre.sh  appearance,  particularly  of  their  hair, 
and  this  difference  appeared  more  striking  as  the  experiment  advanced. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  while  preparations  were  making  for  killing  and 
dressing,  they  were  again  weighed  on  the  hoof.  One  of  those  then  whose 
daily  allowance  had  been  7  pounds  of  corn  each,  had  increased  20  pounds  ia 
the  "24  days:  the  other,  which  had  had  an  equal  allowance  of  corn,  had  in- 
creased only  5  pounds.  I  could  not  account  for  the  difference  by  any  thing  I 
could  discover,  either  before  or  after  killing;  the  appetites  of  these  two  were 
much  more  alike  than  of  the  others;  and  their  health  was  apparently  equally 
good. 

Of  the  pair  fed  on  mush,  whose  daily  allowance  had  been  Si  pounds  of  meal 
each,  the  greedy  one  had  gained  23  pounds  and  the  other  21  pounds. 

These  are  all  the  material  facts  in  these  experiments,  except  that  a  very 
.small  portion  of  salt  M-as  put  in  each  mess  of  mush — and  there  is  no  miracle 
in  them.  The  hogs  allowed  3^  pounds  of  each  gained  less  than  three-fourths 
of  a  pound  daily,  but  it  was  more  than  those  fed  on  double  that  quantity  of 
corn  gained. 

The  soiling  of  swine  has  been  referred  to  in  our  notice  of 
the  English  practice.  The  late  Mr.  Lorain,  from  a  partial 
.experiment,  a  short  time  previous  to  his  decease,  was  forcibly 
impressed  with  its  importance.  And  the  plan  of  making  your 
hogs  work,  as  adopted  by  INIr.  Phinney,  JNIr.  Ingersoll,  the 
late  Charles  Vaughan,  of  Maine,  and  man}-  others,  is  an 
admirable  one.  The  manure  they  produce  is  of  the  best  kind, 
and  with  judicious  management  large  quantities  may  be  easily 
obtained.  (See  Mr.  Phinney's  statement.  Appendix.)  But 
when  this  practice  is  adopted,  too  much  regard  cannot  be  paid 
to  their  comfort,  and  no  animal  will  afford  a  more  generous 
return  for  the  care  bestowed  upon  it  than  the  hog.  William 
Pexn  Kinzer,  Springlawn  farm,  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  in 
an  interesting  paper,  communicated  to  the  Editor  of  the  Far- 
mers' Cabinet,*  says: 

The  conviction,  that  very  much  of  the  nourishing  property  of  grain  is  lost 
bv  the  process  of  fermentation  and  distillation,  and  yet  aware  of  the  aptitude 
of  all  kinds  of  stock  to  fatten  on  the  swill  of  distilled  grain,  after  the  essence 
or  volatile  spirit  has  been  extracted,  I  conceived  the  plan  of  boiling  the  grain, 
after  being  chopped,  to  be  fed  sweet  and  fresh;  conjecturing  that  a  given  quan- 
tity of  grain  thus  prepared  would  be  converted  into  the  greatest  possible 
weight  of  flesh. 

He  here  gives  his  process  of  boiling,  and  then  says,  "by  this 
method,  cattle  and  hogs  are  fattened  in  half  the  time  that  is 
required  on  raw  grain,  and  with  an  economy  of  grain  aston- 

»  Farmers'  Cabinet,  March,  1830.  The  reader  will  find  an  interesting  paper. 
Mr.  K.  confines  steaming  to  the  entire  family  of  roots. 


400  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

ishingly  great.  »  «  *  ]\fy  fondest  hopes  are  more  than 
realised."* 

All  the  varieties  of  grain,  and  almost  all  kinds  of  roots  are 
now  extensively  used  in  the  fattening  of  swine,  but  in  general 
undergo  the  previous  process  of  cooking  in  some  shape  or 
other.  The  potato,  sugar-beet,  ruta-baga,  mangel-wurtzel, 
parsnep  and  carrot  are  severally  brought  into  profitable  requi- 
sition. Apples,  both  sweet  and  acid,  afford  a  very  agreeable 
food  for  swine;  and  large  numbers  are  fattened  almost  entire- 
ly upon  them  with  the  addition  of  a  small  portion  of  prepared 
grain  for  a  few  weeks  previous  to  slaughtering  them.  Har- 
vey Baldwin,  of  Hudson,  Ohio,  has  adopted  this  process  of 
fattening  w^ith  marked  success,  since  1S33.  Pain  Wingate, 
a  practical  farmer  and  a  highly  respectable  member  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  says,  "I  last  year  fattened  an  old  hog  and 
two  pigs  upon  apples,  with  the  addition  of  fourteen  bushels  of 
oats  and  pea-meal,  and  one  bushel  of  Indian  meal.  When  I 
commenced  feeding  them,  which  was  the  10th  of  Sth  month, 
1835,  they  were  in  rather  poor  condition.  I  fed  the  pigs  three 
months,  and  they  weighed  at  seven  months  old,  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  The 
hog  I  fattened  four  months,  and  when  he  was  nineteen  months 
old  he  weighed  four  hundred  and  fifteen  pounds."  My  old 
and  worthy  friend  David  Comfort,  of  Byberry,  assures  me 
that  he  has  every  confidence  in  fattening  hogs  on  apples,  and 
that  he  has  put  up  pork  fattened  on  apples  until  the  two  last 
weeks,  when  corn  was  substituted;  and  the  pork  was  as  sweet, 
solid,  and  well  flavoured  as  any  he  ever  saw.  Innumeral)le 
instances  could  be  adduced  of  the  value  of  apples  in  the  feed- 
ing of  swine,  but  these  are  deemed  sufficient. 

Judge  Peters  recommended  the  presence  of  some  dry  rot- 
ten wood  in  the  pens  in  which  hogs  were  put  up  for  fattening; 
that  their  food  be  soured  by  a  proper  degree  of  fermentation; 
and  that  the  superiority  of  swill  so  acidulated,  for  fattening, 
is  as  one  gallon  of  the  sour  swill  to  two  of  the  sweet.  "Char- 
coal  or  rotten  wood,  containing  a  large  quantity  of  pyrolig- 
neous  acid,  should  be  kept  constantly  in  the  pen;  and  salt 
should  be  placed  within  reach  of  the  hogs  twice  or  thrice  every 
week,"! 

The  Farmer's  Assistant  very  judiciously  remarks,  that  what- 
ever method  may  be  adopted  for  fattening  swine,  it  is  essential 

*  Care  must  be  observed  in  selecting  the  kettle  or  boiler;  iron  is  preferable, 
as  it  is  well  known  that  copper,  or  copper  and  lead,  are  highly  pernicious, 
generating  poison.  Whenever,  therefore,  boilers  of  this  description  are  used 
for  the  cooking  of  food,  of  whateVer  kind,  they  should  be  immediately  einp'.ied, 
and  instantly  cleansed. 

t  T.  W.  Joii.vsox,  Esq.  ^ 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  401 

that  they  be  kept  warm  and  clean.  They  should  be  well  lit- 
tered, and  as  much  substantial  food  and  drink  as  they  require 
should  be  administered  to  them  at  regular  intervals  or  periods. 
They  should  be  frequently  curried;  and  in  every  stye  or  yard 
in  whicli  pigs  are  kept,  there  should  be  erected  a  rubbing-post, 
the  advantages  of  which  are  too  apparent  to  need  any  notice. 

When  rearing  swine  a  small  quantity  of  nutritious  food 
given  with  lucern,  clover,  tares,  &c.  is  sufficient;  but  when 
put  up  to  fatten,  a  constant  supply  of  the  most  wholesome  and 
nutritious  food  should  be  provided. 

The  boo;  if  we  regard  the  multitudes  of  mankind  who  feed 
upon  its  flesh,  occupies,  it  will  be  seen,  an  important  place  in 
the  domestic  economy  of  all  civilized  countries.  His  flesh  is 
perfectly  nutritive,  and,  from  its  ready  reception  of  salt,  it  is 
better  fitted  for  preservation  than  that  of  any  other  animal — it 
is  therefore  largely  used  for  sea  voyages,  for  which  purpose  it 
is  eminentlv  adapted.  It  forms  a  very  large  portion  of  the 
animal  food  consumed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Europe;  and  from 
the  great  facilit}'  with  which  it  may  be  raised  by  the  humble 
cottager  as  well  as  the  breeder  on  the  larger  scale,  it  has  very 
aptly  been  styled  the  poor  man's  stock.  He  is,  beyond  ever}'' 
other  animal,  quickly  multiplied,  reared,  and  brought  to  the 
required  maturity;  and  it  is  a  great  error  for  a  farmer,  how- 
ever extended  his  concerns  may  be,  to  disregard  this  branch 
of  farm  stock — it  is  to  him  a  source  of  household  economy  and 
comfort.  He  can  raise  the  most  delicate  pork  for  use  at  all 
times,  and  with  the  greatest  facility;  and  will  always  derive  a 
sufficient  profit  by  the  sale  of  the  remainder  to  repay  him  in 
the  most  ample  manner  for  his  feeding,  and  induce  him  to  give 
attention  to  this  branch  of  economy. 

DISEASES  INCIDENT  TO  SWINE. 

Swine  are  liable  to  but  few  diseases;  but  inasmuch  as  they 
are  very  bad  and  unruly  patients,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to 
treat  them  in  a  proper  manner.  Fortunately^,  however,  a  sys- 
tem of  proper  management,  a  regular  supply  of  wholesome 
and  nutritious  food,  with  a  due  regard  to  cleanliness,  will  in 
general  ward  oS"  all  disease;  and  the  necessity  of  attending 
with  the  greatest  degree  of  strictness  to  these  matters  cannot 
be  too  forcibly  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  every  farmer. 

T/ie  garget  is  an  inflammatory  aflection  of  the  udder;  the 
lacteal  ducts,  by  which  the  milk  is  conveyed,  being  obstructed 
by  an  accumulation  of  coagulated  milk;  and  as  young  pigs  will 
not  suck  when  the  milk  of  the  dam  becomes  vitiated,  the  cor- 
rupted milk  must  without  delay  be  expressed  gently  by  the 
34* 


402  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

hand.  But  when  this  cannot  be  effected,  which  is  often  the 
case,  there  is  but  one  alternative — that  is,  to  kill  the  sow,  as 
she  must  inevitably  perish. 

Garget  of  the  maw  arises  from  over-feeding  and  retained 
dung,  by  which  the  stomach  and  intestines  are  greatly  dis- 
tended, with  much  pain  to  the  animal,  lieceipt: — Give  one 
or  two  drachms  of  jalap;  repeat,  if  necessary,  administering  at 
the  same  time  a  clyster  of  warm  water  and  common  salt. 

The  measles  is  a  disorder  mostly  confined  to  the  throat, 
which  is  filled  with  small  pustules;  these  sometimes  appear  on 
the  outer  surface  of  the  neck,  and  it  is  found  to  affect  the  grain 
of  meat  when  killed.  It  is  the  disease  most  common  to  the 
hog,  and  is  easily  recognised  by  the  languor  and  decline  of 
the  animal.  It  is  readily  removed  by  giving  small  quantities 
of  levigated  crude  antimony  in  his  food. 

Diseases  of  the  lungs  are  mostly  attended  by  a  dry,  hard, 
husky  cough,  and  a  wasting  of  the  flesh.  As  these  diseases 
generally  arise  from  exposure  to  cold  and  wet,  the  best  remedy 
is  a  warm,  dry  pen;  and  their  food,  which  should  have  a  ten- 
dency to  keep  them  cool  and  prevent  irritation,  should  be 
given  to  them  with  regularity,  but  not  in  too  great  quantities. 

The  murrain  or  leprosy  in  swine  is  known  by  the  short- 
ness of  breath,  a  hanging  of  the  head,  staggering,  and  secretions 
of  viscid  matter  from  the  eyes.  The  origin  of  this  disease  is 
attributed  to  an  inflammatory  state  of  the  blood,  frequently 
occasioned  by  a  long  continuance  of  hot  weather.  Remedy: 
Boil  a  handful  of  nettles  in  a  gallon  of  small  beer,  then  add 
half  a  pound  of  flour  of  sulphur,  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  pul- 
verized aniseed,  three  ounces  of  liquorice,  and  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  elecampane.  Give  this  liquid  in  milk,  in  six  doses, 
and  keep  the  animals  on  good  wholesome  food.  Keep  your 
animals  cool  and  clean  in  summer,  and  you  will  not  probably 
be  troubled  with  this  disease. 

The  staggers  is  a  disease  to  which  swine  are  liable;  during 
its  paroxysms  they  turn  round  with  amazing  rapidity,  and 
very  often,  if  relief  is  not  afforded,  die  in  half  an  hour.  The 
Farmer's  Assistant  furnishes  the  following  remedy,  on  the 
authority  of  Mr.  De  Gruchy,  On  opening  the  mouth  a  bare 
knob  will  be  discovered  in  the  roof  of  it;  cut  this  away,  and 
let  the  wound  bleed;  make  a  powder  of  loam  and  salt,  rub  the 
wound  with  it,  and  then  give  the  beast  some  urine,  and  he  will 
presently  recover. 

Dry  cough  and  wasting  of  the  flesh  is  corrected  by  a  warm 
pen,  and  a  regular  supply  of  cooling  and  wholesome  food. 

The  mange  in  hogs,  like  the  scab  in  sheep,  is  a  cutaneous 
eruption,  brought  on  by  the  foul  state  of  the  pens  or  enclosures^ 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  493 

and  most  generally  denotes  a  slovenly  farmer.  This  inference 
does  not  always  follow:  we  have  known  instances  in  which  it 
has  been  introduced  into  our  best  farms  by  the  purchase  of 
animals  having  it  in  its  incipient  stages,  when  it  could  not  be 
detected.  It  is  indicated  by  the  violent  rubbing  of  the  diseased 
animal  against  any  hard  substance,  and  with  such  violence  as 
to. tear  away  the  head  of  the  pustule,  and  to  produce  a  disagree- 
able scab.  On  the  first  appearance  of  this  disease,  the  infected 
animal  must  be  instantly  removed  to  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  others,  washed  thoroughly  with  a  strong  soap-ley, 
and  anointed  with  the  following  preparation,  recommended  by 
Dr.  NoRFORD.  "Incorporate  one  ounce  of  fine  flour  of  sul- 
phur, two  drachms  of  fresh  pulverized  white  hellebore,  three 
ounces  of  hog's  lard,  and  half  an  ounce  of  the  water  of  kali, 
(as  prepared  in  the  shops,)  so  as  to  form  an  ointment."  This 
is  to  be  rubbed  in  at  one  time,  and  is  supposed  sufficient  for  a 
hog  weighing  from  eight  hundred  to  a  thousand  pounds;  and  if 
properly  applied,  no  repetition  is  necessary,  provided  the  hog 
be  kept  perfectly  clean  after  the  cure  is  performed.  It  some- 
times happens  that  from  long  neglect,  the  ears,  neck,  and  other 
parts  become  ulcerated.  In  this  case  they  should  be  anointed 
every  third  or  fourth  day  with  a  little  tar  ointment,  prepared 
by  mixing  equal  parts  of  mutton  suet  and  tar  over  a  gentle  fire, 
and  straining  the  mixture  while  hot. 

Fever,  or  rising  of  the  lights,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
appears  to  originate  from  over-feeding,  and  may  be  removed 
by  administering  a  mixture  of  sulphur  and  oil. 

CURING  OF  PORK  AND  HAMS. 

This  is  a  very  nice  process.  A  great  diversity  of  practice 
prevails  throughout  the  country.  Some  sections,  as  Burlington 
county,  New  Jersey,  for  instance,  are  justly  celebrated  both 
at  home  and  abroad  for  the  peculiar  excellence  of  their  hams. 
Virginia  bacon  has  also  obtained  great  celebrity.  As  the  prac- 
tice of  curing  both  pork  and  hams  is  so  various,  all  we  can 
promise  or  undertake  is  to  give  the  different  processes  adopted 
by  experienced  and  practical  men.  The  following  method  has 
been  practised  for  a  number  of  years  by  T.  W.  Johnson,  Esq., 
of  Auburn,  near  Frederick,  Maryland,  with  the  best  results, 
his  hams  rivalling  in  excellence  and  flavour  the  Burlington 
and  Westphalia  hams.     He  says: 

In  order,  then,  to  have  good  bacon,  it  is  necessary  to  have  good  hogs.  By 
^ood  hogs  I  mean  those  of  an  approved  breed,  of  proupr  age  and  size;  much 
more  depends  on  the  breed  of  the  hog  than  is  generalTv  supposed,  and  much, 
very  much  upon  the  age  and  size.  The  most  approved  breeds  for  bacon,  are 
the  cross  of  the  Parkinson  with  the  Siberian,  or  the  Chinese  with  our  common 


404  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

stock;  the  meat  is  more  delicate  in  flavour  and  taste,  and  easier  to  be  raised 
and  kept  fat.  Hogs  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  or  twenty  months  old,  are  the 
best  ages;  and  weight  from  one  hundred  and  thirty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty 
pound^.  Hogs  of  less  age  than  twelve  or  fifteen  months,  have  too  little  firm- 
ness and  solidity  to  retain  their  juices,  and  after  smoking  become  hard  and  dry; 
the  same  objection  holds  good  as  to  weights  under  one  hundred  or  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty.  Hogs  of  two  hundred  pounds  or  upwards  are  too  thick  and 
large  to  be  thoroughly  salted  and  smoked;  consequently  difficult  to  preserve 
any  length  of  time. 

Unless  the  weather  is  so  cold  as  to  endanger  its  freezing,  the  hog,  after  being 
slaughtered,  is  suffered  to  hang  out  all  night  so  as  to  become  thoroughly 
cold  and  stitT,  when  it  will  cut  up  much  more  smooth  and  neat.  In  cutting  up 
I  make  six  pieces  from  each  hog  for  salting,  the  feet  should  always  be  sawed 
off" instead  of  being  cut  off' with  an  axe  or  cleaver,  as  it  will  leave  a  smoother 
surface  and  prevent  any  place  Ibr  the  lodgment  of  skippers.  The  feet  should 
be  cut  off"a  little  below  the  joint.  The  next  and  most  important  matter  is  the 
salting.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  find  two  persons  who  agree  as  to  the  best 
mode;"  some  use  fine,  some  coarse  salt,  some  cayenne  pepper,  some  sugar, 
some  molasses,  some  nitre,  and  some  none,  and  some  again  prefer  brining. 
But  as  I  have  promised  to  give  you  my  method,  I  shall  proceed  to  do  so.  After 
cutting  up  my  pork,  I  select  my  hams  and  shoulders,  lay  them  side  b}'  side, 
skin  down,  oii  some  loose  planks  elevated  at  one  end  to  permit  the  blood  to 
drain  off" freely;  they  are  then  salted,  or  what  is  called  sprinkled,  with  the  best 
clean  Liverpool  ground  alum  salt.  After  remaining  in  this  situation  for  two 
or  three  days,  or  until  they  become  perfectly  white,  they  are  then  taken  up 
piece  by  piece  and  laid  on  a  clean  table;  to  each  ham  and  shoulder,  according 
to  size,  I  put  two  tea-spoonsfnl  or  more  of  finely  pulverized  nitre,  rubbmgwith 
the  hand  both  the  flesh  and  the  skin  side;  it  is  then  well  rubbed  with  salt  and 
laid  in  a  clean  tub— afier  putting  in  as  many  pieces,  side  by  side,  skin  down, 
a.s  the  bottom  of  the  tub  will  contain,  I  fill  up  all  the  interstices  with  salt,  then 
another  layer  of  meat  and  salt,  and  so  proceed  until  the  tub  is  full.  In  four  or 
si.x;  weeks,  in  a  good  cellar,  it  will  have  absorbed  as  much  salt  as  it  ever  will; 
(you  see  from  this  remark,  I  do  not  believe  in  over-salting  hams  and  shoulders.) 

Ten  days  or  a  fortnight,  before  taking  out  of  the  tubs,  I  have  some  young 
green  hickory  wood  cut  and  burnt  by  itself,  the  ashes  collected  and  sifted;  after 
taking  the  meat  out  of  the  tubs  and  wiping  it  dry  with  a  clean  coarse  towel,  it 
is  laid  in  a  wooded  box  sufficiently  large  to  contain  two  pieces,  the  hickory 
ashes  thrown  over  them  and  well  pressed  on  with  the  hand;  it  very  soon  forms 
a  hard  incrustation  over  the  meat  and  prevents  as  well  evaporation,  drying 
and  dripping,  and  is  also  one  of  the  best  preventives  against  bugs  and  skip- 
pers. After  hanging  in  the  smoke-house  for  a  day  or  two,  the  operation  of 
smoking  commences,  which  I  continue  for  three  months,  or  until  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  the  green  bottle  fly.  My  meat  is  smoked  exclu.sively  with  green 
hickory  w'ood;  the  green  oak  will  answer  very  well.  It  cannot  be  smoked  too 
much,  though  with  the  smoke  there  should  be  as  little  heat  as  possible;  the 
larsest  pieces  should  be  hung  more  immediately  over  where  the  fire  is  made. 
Early  in  the  spring,  say  the  first  of  April,  or  earlier,  should  the  weather  be 
■warm,  or  you  discover  any  of  those  green  coat  gentry  about  your  meat-house 
door,  take  down  your  hams  and  .shoulders  and  pack  them  away  in  your  salt- 
ing tubs,  placing  between  each  layer  of  hams  or  shoulders,  pieces  of  lathes  to 
prevent  too  much  pressure  or  coming  too  much  in  contact,  otherwise  they  will 
be  apt  to  mould  where  they  press  one  upon  the  other.  After  filling  your  tubs 
in  this  way  until  about  one  foot  from  the  top,  fill  it  up  with  hickory  ashes 
pressed  close. 

This  is  Mr.  Johnson's  experience  and  practice  for  years 
past,  and  in  communicating  it,  he  very  aptly  remarks,  that 
there  is  "really  as  much  art  in  cooking  a  ham  as  there  is  in 
curing  it."  The  best  ham  ever  cured  may  be  wholly  spoiled 
by  injudicious  cooking. 

One  of  the  best  and  most  successful  farmers  of  Philadelphia 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  495 

county,  recommends  the  following  process,  the  excellence  of 
which  he  is  fully  satisfied  of  by  several  years  experience.  It 
is  still  his  favourite  and  only  method.  For  curing  pork,  two 
hundred  pounds — fifteen  pounds  of  Liverpool  salt;  eight  gallons 
of  pure  soft  water;  one  pound  brown  sugar;  four  ounces  salt- 
petre; one  quart  ley.*  These  ingredients  are  to  be  mixed  with 
the  water  cold,  well  stirred  and  skimmed,  and  put  over  the 
pork  cold,  no  fire  being  used  about  the  process.  The  pork  is 
to  be  packed  in  a  cask,  and  between  each  piece  sprinkle  a  little 
fine  salt.  Then  pour  over  your  pickle,  and  let  it  stand  until 
the  pork  is  salted  to  your  taste — usually  about  four  weeks  are 
sufficient.  The  pork  should  be  rubbed  witli  salt,  and  laid  on 
shelves  long  enough  to  become  perfectly  cool  previous  to  being 
consigned  to  the  pickle  tub. 

JNIeat  that  is  to  be  dried  and  smoked  requires  less  salt  than 
that  which  is  to  remain  in  pickle,  on  account  of  the  preserving 
qualities  of  the  pyroligneous  acid,  which  is  supplied  by  the  smoke 
of  the  wood.  The  great  art  in  smoking  meat  well,  seems  to 
consist  in  having  the  meat  dried  by  smoke  and  not  by  heat. 
The  hams  of  Westphalia,  unrivalled  in  reputation,  are  managed 
in  this  way.  The  farmers  have  a  closet  in  the  garret  adjoin- 
ing the  chimney,  made  smoke-tight,  in  which  they  hang  their 
hams  and  bacon  to  dry  without  the  influence  of  heat  or  fire. 
The  smoke  is  conducted  into  this  room  through  a  funnel  in- 
serted in  an  aperture  of  the  chimney.  There  are  two,  one  for 
admitting  the  smoke,  the  other  for  passing  it  off".  There  area 
number  of  similar  establishments  in  Chester,  Berks  and  Lan- 
caster counties. 

The  hams  of  some  of  the  European  states  are  highly  extoll- 
ed. In  Germany,  Spain,  and  in  some  other  places  they  are 
remarkably  fine  flavoured,  and  are  frequently  spoken  of  by 
travellers  in  those  countries.  A  large  quantity  of  sugar  is  used 
along  with  the  saltpetre  in  curing  them,  which  not  only  aids 
in  the  conservation  of  the  flesh,  but  also  renders  it  peculiarly 
mellow.  In  many  of  the  old  countries  sugar  is  very  generally 
put  into  the  water  in  which  the  hams  are  boiled,  as  it  is  found 
to  render  them  more  tender. 

The  smoked  flavour,  which  by  many  persons  is  considered 
an  improvement,  may  be  readily  imparted  to  the  hams  by  rub- 
bing them  with  the  pyroligneous  acid,  which  acts  also  as  a 
great  preservative  of  all  kinds  of  flesh  from  putrefaction.  It 
may  now  be  had  in  the.  shops.     . 

*  The  same  receipt  answers  for  a  like  quantilj'  of  beef,  substituting  twelve 
for  fifteeu  pounds  of  salt. 


406  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

VI.    DOMESTIC  FOWLS. 

The  domestic  fowls  reared  for  food  are  divided  into  two 
divisions,  viz:  1.  Gallinacea,  the  cock  kind,  comprehendinii; 
the  common  cock,  the  turkey,  the  Guinea-fowl,  the  peacock 
and  the  pigeon,  2.  Palmipedes,  the  web-footed  kinds,  em- 
bracing the  duck,  the  goose,  and  the  swan. 

The  breeding  and  rearing  of  domestic  poultry,  as  one  of  the 
branches  of  rural  econoni}^,  includes  two  special,  though  difler- 
ent  objects.  The  first  is  that  of  rearing  poultry  for  amuse- 
ment, and  for  the  table  of  the  owner;  and  the  second  is  doing 
the  same  thing  with  a  view  to  profit.  In  France,  and  other 
European  countries,  the  raising  of  poultry  is  conducted  on  the 
large  scale,  in  establishments  erected  for  the  purpose,  and  in 
the  successful  management  of  which  no  pains  nor  expense  are 
spared.* 

The  Cock^  which  may  be  regarded  as  a  real  blessing  to  hu- 
manity, is  the  first  in  importance  of  the  gallinaceous  kind:  to 
what  region  he  originally  belonged  is  unknown  to  us,  as  the 
period  of  his  servitude  is  hidden  in  the  remotest  ages  of  the 
world.  He  is  found  from  the  equator  to  the  limits  of  the  tem- 
perate regions;  in  some  places  very  abundant,  and  sometimes 
of  large  size  and  great  beauty.  The  male  of  the  domestic  spe- 
cies, says  Professor  Low,  were  we  not  daily  familiarized  with 
the  sight  of  him,  would  apj^ear  to  be  a  very  graceful  bird. 
His  gait  is  erect,  his  eyes  are  sparkling;  he  is  armed  with 
spurs  for  his  defence,  and  he  is  endowed  with  a  courage  which 
often  causes  him  to  die  rather  than  yield  to  an  enemy. 

The  female  is  remarkable  beyond  all  other  birds  for  her  fecundity;  she  con- 
tinues to  lay  ejjgs  throughout  a  great  part  of  the  year;  the  period  in  which 
she  ceases  to  do  so,  or  does  so  very  sparingly,  is  that  of  moulting,  which  gene- 
rally lasts  from  one  to  three  months.  After  having  laid  a  certain  number  of 
eggs,  the  desire  of  incubation  takes  place.  This  is  indicated  by  strong  emo- 
tions, and  a  peculiar  cry;  and  she  will  sit  on  any  eggs  that  may  be  presented 
to  her.  Many  expedients,  some  of  them  very  cruel,  are  practised  to  check 
the  instinctive  passion,  so  as  to  cause  the  animal  to  lay  eggs  rather  than  to 
hatch. 

It  is  remarkable  that  while  some  of  the  females  show  this  desire  in  the 
strongest  manner,  others  scarcely  manifest  it,  or,  showing  it,  it  quickly  leaves 
them.  Hence,  while  some  are  engaged  in  producing  eggs,  others  are  ready 
to  serve  the  office  of  mother,  and  on  this  account  there  is  no  kind  of  the  domes- 
tic fowls  that  can  be  propagated  so  quickly,  and  in  such  numbers. 

The  period  of  hatching  is  21  days.  The  female  during  this  time  manifests 
increasing  watchfulness.  She  will  scarcely  be  induced  to  forsake  her  charge, 
even  by  the  most  pressing  claims  for  food,  and  hence  food  should  be  placed 
within  her  reach.  The  number  of  eggs  which  one  mother  is  allowed  to  hatch, 
is  generally  from  10  to  15. 

The  young  is  gradually  nourished  within  the  shell.  It  lies  without  motion; 
its  position  is  reriiarkable;  its  breast  is  towards  one  end  of  the  eq,^,  which 

*  M.iiN  on  Poultrv. 


Jt. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  407 

is  formed  large  for  that  purpose;  its  legs  are  bent  forward  to  the  breast;  its 
head  is  couched  beneath  one  of  its  wings;  and  its  beak  rises  from  between  the 
wing  and  the  back. 

When  the  time  of  its  maturity  is  at  length  arrived,  the  desire  of  life  and 
motion  awakes.  The  little  creature  employs  its  beak,  thus  singularly  placed, 
for  the  purpose  of  breaking  its  covering.  It  is  heard  to  tap  (he  shell;  the  emo- 
.  tions  of  the  mother  increase  as  she  listens  to  the  attempt  ol  the  young  to  come 
forth.  The  beating  of  the  beak  is  generally  continued  for  2  hours,  sometimes 
for  G  hours,  and  sometimes  for  a  longer  time.  At  length  the  shell  is  broken, 
and  the  young  is  enabled  to  come  Ibrth  from  its  marvellous  mansion. 

The  anxious  mother  has  no  milk  to  give  to  her  young  when  they  come  into 
day;  but  Nature  has  provided  for  all  their  wants.'  The  mother  teaches  the 
young  to  find  their  food  almost  as  soon  as  born,  and  their  little  bills  are  suffi- 
ciently hardened  at  their  birth  to  pick  it  from  the  ground. 

The  change  of  nature  in  the  parent  is  very  remarkable.  From  the  most 
timid  of  creatures,  she  now  becomes  fierce  and  courageous;  she  will  attack 
the  largest  animal  in  defence  of  her  young;  she  watches  them  with  surprising 
solicitude;  she  shelters  them  under  her  wings,  and  leads  them  where  food  is 
to  be  found.  After  a  time  her  cares  cease;  .she  gradually  recovers  her  natural 
timidity;  she  finally  resumes  all  her  habits,  and  leaves  her  long-cherished  off- 
spring as  if  never  to  know  them  more. 

The  varieties  of  the  common  fowl  are  very  numerous,  and  distinguished 
from  one  another  by  their  size,  colour,  and  fecundity.  1.  The  Game-fowl  is 
a  very  singular  creature  on  account  of  its  habits.  Size  less  than  that  of  the 
common  fowl,  symmetry  of  its  limbs  greater,  and  the  beauty  of  its  plumage 
remarkable,  when  not  mutilated  for  the  barbarous  sport  for  which  it  is  destin- 
ed. Its  flesh  is  vvhite,  and  esteemed  beyond  that  of  all  the  common  kinds  for 
its  delicacy  and  flavour;  but  the  singular  pugnacity  of  disposition,  which 
shows  itself  at  the  earliest  period  of  life,  deters  all  breeders  rearing  it  except 
for  the  purpose  of  gaming.  Whole  broods,  scarce  feathered,  become  blind 
from  continued  fighting.  They  cannot  be  employed  for  crossing  the  common 
fowl.  2.  The  DoRKiNG-FowLs,  so  named  from  a  town  in  Surrey,  are  the  largest 
and  finest  of  our  domestic  breed.  Their  colour  is  wholly  white,  their  body  is 
capacious,  and  they  are  prolific  layers  of  eggs.  They  are  distinguished  by 
having  five  claws  on  each  foot.  3.  Equal  to  the  Dorking  in  estimation,  are 
the  Poland  fowls.  Their  colour  is  black,  heads  flat,  and  surmounted  with  a 
crown  of  feathers.  They  are  a  very  useful  variety,  prolific  of  eggs,  but  le.ss 
inclined  to  set,  than  those  of  any  other  breed.  4.  The  B.antam  is  a  little  Indian 
breed,  very  delicate  to  eat,  but,  from  the  smallness  of  its  size,  not  of  any  eco- 
nomical importance.  5.  The  Chittagong  or  Malay  fowl,  is  the  largest  variety 
of  the  species,  but  the  flesh  is  regarded  as  inferior  to  those  described. 

When  it  i.s  wished  to  form  a  b?'eed  of  fowls,  the  breeding 
should  be  fi'om  a  young  stock.  Hens  are  at  their  prime  at 
three  years  old,  and  decline  after  the  age  of  five.  The  best 
period  to  commence  breeding  is  in  the  spring.  The  number 
of  hens  to  one  male  from  four  to  six,  the  latter  being  the  ex- 
treme number — more  are  sometimes  allowed,  but  it  is  a  bad 
practice. 

The  methods  of  feeding  fowls  are  various.  The  most  com- 
mon, where  raised  in  ordinary  numbers,  is  to  suffer  them  to 
range  about  the  homestead,  in  which  case  they  are  termed 
barn-door  fowls.  Whether  they  are  suffered  to  roam  at  large 
or  are  confined,  there  should  be  a  poultry  yard,  where  they 
may  be  regularly  fed;  and  this  should  be  properly  laid  out,  on 
dry  ground,  well  gravelled,  and  supplied  with  good  water,  and 
the  whole  well  sheltered  from  the  north  and  east.    In  this  yard 


408  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

should  be  placed  a  quantity  of  dried  sand,  or  effete  lime — a 
mixture  of  both  would  he  best,  that  the  fowls  may  indulge  the 
propensity  so  natural  to  them  of  rolling,  basking,  and  dusting 
themselves. 

A  poultry  house  is  indispensable  to  the  profitable  manage- 
ment of  the  business.  In  this  the  animals  will  roost,  lay  their 
eggs,  and  bring  forth  their  young.  Its  situation  should  be  dry, 
and  its  position  such  as  to  enjoy  the  sun's  rays  in  winter  as 
soon  as  he  rises  above  the  horizon.  Cold  not  only  benumbs 
fowls,  but  also  retards  and  diminishes  their  laying — the  want 
of  pure  water  gives  them  the  pip,  costiveness,  and  other  in- 
flammatory diseases.  Indeed,  an  infectious  atmosphere  causes 
them  to  droop,  whence  it  naturally  follows  that  their  fecundi- 
ty is  less,  that  the  flesh  is  not  of  so  good  a  quality,  and  their 
rearing  is  attended  with  difficulty.  Under  these  circumstances 
one  may  judge  how  important  it  is,  for  the  improvement  of 
poultry,  that  it  should  be  wholesomely,  comfortably  and  clean- 
ly housed.  To  centre  every  advantage  that  can  be  wished  for 
in  a  poultry  house,  it  is  essential  that  it  be  neither  too  cold  in 
■winter  nor  too  warm  in  summer;  the  fowds  must  take  a  liking 
to  it,  and  not  be  tempted  to  go  to  roost  and  lay  any  where  else. 
Its  size  must  be  proportioned  to  the  number  of  fowls,  but 
sooner  smaller  than  too  large,  for  in  winter  they  electrify,  and 
impart  their  own  warmth  to  each  other. 

Arthur  Young  was  of  opinion,  that  where  a  set  of  houses 
are  intended,  a  situation  should  be  selected  near  or  close  to  the 
farm-yard,  or  to  the  east,  rather  near,  but  not  too  much  so  to 
the  farmer's  house,  and  with  ample  space  around  for  the  fowls 
to  disperse  over  in  the  day  time,  and  one  or  more  ponds,  if 
there  are  any  of  the  aquatic  sorts.  All  must  have  access  to  a 
gravelled  yard  and  to  grass  for  a  range,  with  an  abundance  of 
clear  pure  water.  Great  attention  should  be  paid  to  cleanli- 
ness and  white-washing,  not  for  appearance,  but  to  destroy 
vermin.  James  !Main,  in  his  Treatise  on  Poultry  says,  of 
whatever  size  the  building  may  be  constructed,  it  should  be 
raised  a  foot  from  the  ground,  walls  thick,  well  plastered, 
white-washed  inside  and  out,  having  neither  chinks,  crevices, 
or  cavities,  which  leave  room  for  martins,  \veazels,  rats,  and 
mice,  and  even  insects  to  get  in,  and  to  remain  there.  The 
roof  that  cove,''s  it  juts  out  very  much,  sheltering  it  from  wet, 
the  most  dreadful  scourge  of  fowls;  the  door  is  small,  above 
which  is  an  opening  by  which  the  fowls  have  ingress  and 
egress  by  the  aid  of  a  ladder;  they  thus  go  easily  to  roost,  as 
the  roosts  are  fixed  purposely  on  a  level  with  this  opening. 
There  are  two  circular  windows,  the  one  to  the  east,  the  other 
to  the  west,  furnished  with  a  very  close  netted  grating,  and  an 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OP  ANIMALS. 


409 


outside  shutter.  This  description,  it  will  be  remembered,  ap- 
plies more  particularly  to  a  house  of  the  following  dimensions 
— twelve  feet  in  length,  ten  in  width,  and  the  same  in  height. 


Fis.  38. 


Mr.  Lawrence,  who  wrote  a  volume  on  the  Treatment  of  Poultry,  under 
the  assumed  name  of  Mowbray,  makes  the  following  observations  on  the  con- 
struction of  poultry-houses.  A  space  thirty  by  fifty  feet  may  be  made  choice 
of  for  the  buildings  and  yards;  the  building  maybe  ranged  along  the  north 
side,  and  the  three  other  sides  enclosed  with  a  trellis  or  slatted,  or  wire  fence, 
from  six  to  eight  feet  in  height,  and  subdivided  with  similar  fences,  according 
to  the  number  of  apartments.  The  hen-house  (a  fig.  37)  and  turkey-house  {b) 
may  have  the  roosts  (c,  c)  in  part  over  the  low  houses  for  ducks  {d)  and  geese, 
(/>  Sy  ^)  and  besides  these  there  may  be  other  apartments  for  hatching,  or  for 
newly  hatched  broods,  for  fattening,  to  serve  as  an  hospital,  or  for  retaining, 
boiling,  and  otherwise  preparing  food,  killingpoultryand  other  purposes.  Aflue 
may  pass  through  the  whole  for  moist  or  very  severe  weather;  and  the  windows 
ought  to  have  outward  shutters,  both  for  excluding  excessive  heat  and  exces- 
sive cold.  In  every  apartment  there  ought  to  be  a  window  opposite  to  the 
door,  in  order  to  create  a  thorough  draft,  when  both  are  opened,  and  also  a 
valve  in  the  roof,  to  admit  the  escape  of  the  hottest  and  lightest  air.  Every 
door  ought  to  have  a  small  opening  at  the  bottom,  for  the  admission  of  the 
fowls  when  the  door  is  shut. — The  elevation  should  be  a  simple  style,  and 
there  may  be  a  pigeonry  over  the  centre  building.  The  roos^is  sometimes  a 
mere  floor  or  loft,  to  which  the  birds  fly  up  or  ascend  by  a  ladder;  at  other 
times  it  is  nothing  more  than  the  coupling  timbers  of  the  roof,  or  a  series  of 
cross  battens  or  rods,  rising  in  gradation  from  the  floor  to  the  roof  The  battens 
should  be  placed  at  such  a  distance  horizontally  as  that  the  birds,  when  roost- 
ing, may  not  incommode  each  other  by  their  droppings.  For  this  purpose 
they  should  be  a  foot  apart  for  hens,  and  eighteen  inches  apart  for  turkies. 
The  slope  of  the  roost  may  be  about  45°,  and  the  lower  part  should  lift  up  by 
hinges  in  order  to  permit  a  person  to  remove  the  dung.  No  flying  is  requisite 
in  case  of  such  a  roost,  as  the  birds  ascend  and  descend  by  steps,  see  figure  38, 
in  which  (a,  b)  are  spars  for  the  poultry  to  sit  on  (c,  c)  ranges  of  boxes  for 
nests,  (d)  the  roof,  (e)  the  door,  which  should  be  nearly  as  high  as  the  ceiling, 
for  ventilation,  and  should  have  a  small  opening  with  a  shutter  at  bottom,  to 
permit  the  poultry  to  go  in  and  out  at  pleasure.  The  spars  on  which  the 
clawed  birds  are  to  roost,  should  not  be  round  and  smooth,  but  roundish  and 
roughish  like  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

Feeding-houses,  in  which  are  troughs  with  water  and  food 

placed  all  around,  so  that  the  fowls  may  feed  constantly  and 

without  interruption,  must  be  employed  when  fowls  are  reared 

in  large  numbers  for  sale.     Poulterers  know  how  to  feed  fowls 

with  great  expedition;  and  their  method  seems  to  be  to  give 

every  kind  of  nourishing  food.     It  is,  indeed,  under  every  cir- 

35 


410  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

cumstance,  the  rule  of  experienced  feeders  to  give  them  a  full 
allowance  of  food  from  their  birth  to  their  maturity. 

Fowls  are,  of  all  birds,  the  most  easy  to  feed,  every  alimen- 
tary substance  agreeing  with  ihem;  and  they  are  seen  the 
whole  day  long  incessantly  busied  in  scratching,  searching, 
and  picking  up  a  living.  No  seed,  however  minute,  can  es- 
cape the  piercing  looks  of  a  fowl.  The  fly  most  rapid  in  flight, 
cannot  screen  itself  from  the  promptitude  with  which  she  darts 
her  bill;  while  the  worm  which  comes  to  breathe  at  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  has  not  time  to  shrink  from  her  glance — it  is  im- 
mediately seized  by  the  head  and  drawn  up.  Fowls  that  are 
thus  feasted  on  seeds,  worms,  insects,  and  every  thing  else  that 
may  be  found  in  a  close  and  diligent  search  in  the  yard,  barns, 
stables,  and  cow-houses,  only  require,  in  general,  a  supplemen- 
tary feed,  which  is  best  distributed  to  them  in  the  morning  at 
sunrise,  and  before  sunset  in  the  afternoon.  This  meal  is  pre- 
pared in  the  following  manner,  according  to  Main. 

On  the  day  before,  boil  in  the  washing  of  dishes  such  potherbs  as  the  season 
affords;  let  them  be  mixed  with  bran,  and  then  drained.  On  the  following 
day  this  paste  is  warmed  up  and  given  to  the  fowls;  after  they  have  eaten  of 
it,  give  them  some  of  the  siftings  of  wheat,  rye,  barley,  buckwheat,  or  Indian 
corn  bruised  or  cracked,  and  such  crumbs  and  refuse  matters  as  generally 
collect  in  the  kitchen.   The  evening's  meal  should  be  similar  to  the  morning's. 

Indian  corn,  wheat,  barley  and  oats  are  all  employed  in  the 
feeding  of  poultrj'^;  but  to  fatten  them  on  these  articles,  or  even 
to  keep  them  for  the  product  in  eggs,  will  prove  an  uphill 
business.  It  cannot  be  done  to  any  extent  with  profit;  and 
hence  it  is  that  so  little  attention  is  paid  by  our  farmers  to  the 
raising  of  poultry.  Poultry,  all  know,  will  feed  on  any  kind 
of  farinaceous  substance,  and  the  better  the  quality  of  the  food, 
the  more  will  they  profit  by  it.  It  should  be  the  object,  there- 
fore, of  those  who  engage  in  the  business  of  rearing  poultry 
on  a  large  scale,  to  study  sound  economy  in  feeding  them, 
otherwise  they  will  sustain  loss.  But  there  is  no  necessity  for 
this  great  expense.  Boiled  potatoes,  with  the  addition  of  a 
very  sinall  portion  of  Indian  or  barley  meal,  and  with  an  occa- 
sional feed  of  cracked  or  boiled  corn,  will  not  only  keep  the 
flock  in  good  condition,  but  will  in  a  very  short  time  produce 
a  rapid  degree  of  fatness.  The  knowing  ones,  as  they  are 
called  among  our  farmers,  w^ho  deal  largely  in  poultry,  fatten 
them  altogether  in  this  way.  It  is  a  saving  of  at  least  seven- 
tenths  over  the  old  method. 

The  cramming  of  poultry  consists  not  only  in  feeding  them 
with  all  the  great  variety  of  substances  which  they  are  known 
to  consume,  but  in  thrusting  them  down  their  throats.  The 
ingredients  employed  are  made  into  little  balls,  and  the  fowls, 
kept  in  coops,  are  crainmed  night  and  morning.     In  this  way 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  411 

they  are  fattened  in  a  remarkably  short  time,  but  the  practice 
is  unnatural,  and  in  some  degree  cruel;  and  therefore  fattening 
them  in  freedom,  and  as  they  naturally  choose,  is  a  more  cer- 
tain way  of  procuring  pure  healthy  birds.  The  practice  adopt- 
ed by  some  foreign  poulterers  of  depriving  them  of  sight,  and 
light,  and  motion,  by  confining  them  in  narrow  baskets,  while 
they  are  superabundantly  crammed,  is  so  barbarous,  and  revolt- 
ing to  humanity,  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  horrid  custom  will 
never  find  an  advocate  on  this  side  of  the  water. 

In  fattening  poultry,  the  quality  of  the  food  is  a  principal 
thing  to  be  attended  to;  for  if  tiie  ingredients  on  which  they 
are  fattened  be  otherwise  than  sweet,  the  flesh  of  the  fowls 
will  be  deteriorated.  Many  persons  suppose  that  it  will  an- 
swer to  feed  with  any  of  the  refuse  of  grain  or  any  thing  else 
they  will  eat.  This  may  answer  the  purpose  of  the  feeder  for 
a  time,  but  he  will  eventually  lose  his  credit  in  the  market. 
Many  of  the  above  observations  on  the  treatment  of  the  barn- 
door fowl  are  applicable  to  those  about  to  be  mentioned. 

Eggs  are  an  extensive  product  of  common  poultry;  they 
form  an  object  of  vast  consumption,  and  are  produced  in  num- 
bers not  to  be  computed.  The  eggs  of  the  common  hen  are 
the  only  ones  that  may  be  said  to  be  in  daily  use;  not  simply 
because  they  are  the  best  and  the  most  delicate,  but  also  be- 
cause they  are,  of  all  females  in  the  poultry-yard,  the  most 
numerous,  the  most  fruitful,  and  the  most  easy  to  rear.  They 
are  decidedly  one  of  the  best  and  most  wholesome  articles  of 
food  within  the  reach  of  man.  They  are  also  used  for  a  great 
variety  of  other  purposes  than  food.  The  eggs  of  the  common 
hen  only  constitute  an  article  of  commerce. 

From  five  Poland  hens,  Mr.  Lawrence  obtained,  in  eleven 
months,  five  hundred  and  three  eggs,  weighing,  at  the  average 
of  one  ounce  and  five  drachms  each,  fifty  and  a  half  pounds. 
From  this  will  appear  the  great  production  of  animal  food 
from  this  source.  In  the  year  1838  an  account  was  kept  with 
a  dozen  of  our  best  fowls;  they  were  well  and  regularly  fed 
on  boiled  potatoes,  with  occasional  supplies  of  other  kinds  of 
food;  they  were  well  kept,  and  carefully  guarded  against  wet. 
The  produce  for  the  year  was  two  thousand  three  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  eggs,  and  one  hundred  and  three  chicks.  Two 
thousand  of  the  eggs  were  sold  at  the  average  of  twenty  cents 
the  dozen.  A  portion  of  the  young  broods  was  disposed  of, 
producing  nine  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents,  after  subtracting 
all  the  expenses  of  preparing  them  for  market.  To  preserve 
eggs,  the  pores  of  the  shell  should  be  rendered  impervious  to 
the  air.  Unctuous  substances  of  different  kinds  are  employed 
for  this  purpose,  as  suet,  melted  oil,  and  the  like. 


412  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

Turkeys. — Next  to  the  common  fowl,  turkies  form  the 
most  numerous  tribe,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  useful  of 
the  farm-yard.  They  are  natives  of  North  America.  About 
the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century  (1525)  they  were 
introduced  into  England — first  eaten  in  France  at  the  marriage 
feast  of  Charles  IX.,  in  1570,  at  which  period  they  were 
already  common  in  Spain;  and  so  rapidly  were  they  propa- 
gated in  England,  that  we  are  informed  that  in  the  year  15S5 
they  were  not  only  scattered  over  the  whole  kingdom,  but  had 
become  a  common  dish  at  country  feasts.  In  those  early  days 
he  was  called  the  Indian  Cock,  and  sometimes  the  Peacock  of 
the  Indies. 

la  his  wild  state,  the  colour  of  the  turkey  is  black,  rarieg-ated  with  bronze 
and  glossy  green;  and  his  quills  towards  the  ends  are  tipped  with  white.  By 
domestication  he  acquires  that  variety  of  colours  which  we  see  him  to  possess. 
In  his  native  woods,  the  turkey  is  found  in  large  flocks;  he  roosts  upon  the 
highest  trees,  and  becomes  an  ea^y  prey  to  the  hunter;  he  retires  before  the 
pro?ress  of  the  settler,  taking  refuge  in  the  boundless  forests  of  the  interior. 

The  turkey  is  an  important  addition  to  the  domestic  fowls.  There  is  but 
one  species  of  the  domesticated  turkey,  but  great  varieties,  distinguished  chiefly 
bv  their  size  and  colour.  The  turkey  is  more  tender,  and  difficult  to  rear, 
than  the  common  domestic  fowls.  The  hen  lays  a  considerable  number  of 
eggs  in  spring;  the  period  of  her  incubation  is  30  days;  and  from  10  to  15  eggs 
are  usually  assigned  to  one  female.  She  will  sit  upon  her  eggs  frequently 
without  the  desire  to  leave  them,  and  hence  the  propriety  of  supplying  her 
with  water  and  food  while  sitting.  Her  cry  at  the  period  of  maternal  solici- 
tude is  plaintive  and  expressive,  but  she  treats  her  }'oung  with  less  seeming 
care  than  might  have  been  looked  Tor.  She  travels  with  them  very  fast  to 
great  distances,  and  often  leaves  them  straggling  behind  her;  hence  it  is  usual 
to  confine  her  to  a  coop  till  the  young  have  acquired  strength  to  follow  her. 
And  frequenilj-  even,  on  account  of  her  wandering  habits,  her  eggs  are  given 
to  be  hatched  63*  a  common  heu.  She  is  wonderfully  vigilant  when  birds  of 
prey  appear;  and  by  a  peculiar  cry,  gives  the  alarm  to  her  brood,  which  in- 
stantl}'  seek  for  shelter,  or  coach  themselves  upon  the  ground. 

As  soon  as  the  young  are  hatched,  they  must  be  withdrawn  from  the  nest, 
and  kept  warm.  "The  hen  and  brood  must  then  be  housed  for  some  time, 
after  which  she  must  be  cooped  during  the  day  in  the  open  air,  till  the  young 
acquire  strength  to  follow  her.  During  this  period  the  \-oung  are  fed  on  fari- 
naceous food,  kneaded  with  water,  and  mixed  with  cresses,  nettles,  or  other 
green  herbs,  cut  small.  Though  they  are  tender  at  first,  yet  when  half-grown, 
and  well  feathered,  they  become  hardy,  and  will  ransre  abroad,  providing 
themselves  with  insects  and  other  food;  but  care  must  be  taken  that  they  be 
well  fed  when  let  out  in  the  morning,  and  when  they  return  in  the  evening. 
It  is  to  be  observed,  that  if  a  large  wood  be  near,  the  creatures,  with  the  in- 
stinct of  their  race,  will  stray  towards  it,  without  any  seeming  wish  to  return. 

When  they  are  put  up  for  final  feeding,  sodden  barley,  or  the  meal  of  oats, 
barley  and  wheat,  are  their  appropriate  food.  A  common  practice  is,  after 
they  have  been  allowed  to  glean  in  the  stubble-fields  in  autumn,  to  put  them 
up  for  fattening.  A  ?ood  weight  for  a  turkey  is  15  lbs.;  but  they  are  sometimes 
fed  to  '30  and  even  30  lbs.  The  abominable  process  of  cramming  is  sometimes 
also  adopted  with  the  turkey,  and  thus  it  is  compelled  to  become  fat  in  the 
shortest  time.  The  eggs  of  the  turkey  are  regarded  as  delicate  by  those  who 
are  used  to  them,  but  the\-  are  not  much  an  article  of  consumption. 

These  birds  are  exceedingly  voracious,  and  if  grain  merely 
were  given  them,  greedy  as  they  are,  they  would  merit  the 
appellation  of  wheat-coffers.     But  there  arc  other  modes  of 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  4^3 

feeding  them,  better  and  infinitely  cheaper.  Neither  are  they 
as  much  trouble  or  impose  as  much  care  on  the  breeder  as 
some  imagine.  They  are  these:  In  the  first  days  of  the  life 
of  the  turkey,  to  secure  it  from  the  alternations  of  heat  and 
cold,  of  dry  and  wet,  to  give  it  proper  economical  food,  and 
not  to  lose  sight  of  it  till  the  red  shoots. 

Turkeys  should  be  allowed  to  enjoy  themselves  freely  in 
the  open  air;  as  soon  as  the  red  begins  to  shoot,  the  young 
turkey  manifests  a  desire  to  perch  in  the  open  air.  Open  sheds, 
when  they  can  be  made  secure  against  intrusion  of  enemies, 
are  best  suited  to  them.  By  placing  the  bars  on  which  they 
roost  several  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  air  that 
surrounds  them  is  constantly  renewed.  They  require  roomy 
habitations,  in  order  to  preserve  them  from  the  effects  of  their 
own  infection.  The  place  in  which  they  are  kept  should  not 
only  be  well  ventilated,  but  occasionally  fumigated.  They 
cannot  endure  confinement  even  for  a  night  in  a  filthy  hen- 
house. 

The  scorching  sun  and  rain  are,  above  all,  hurtful  to  young 
turkeys,  and  it  must  be  an  indispensable  care  to  shelter  them 
from  the  one  and  the  other,  at  least  during  the  first  six  weeks 
or  two  months,  which  is  about  the  time  the  weak  stage  lasts. 

Fattening  turkeys  is  an  easy  process;  at  the  commence- 
ment of  cold  weather,  when  they  are  generally  about  six  months 
old,  they  are  to  receive  better  and  more  plentiful  food,  in  order 
to  increase  their  size  and  plumpness  expeditiously.  For  this 
purpose  their  appetite  must  be  wdl  supplied,  and  the  common 
diet  will  answer;  but  if  they  have  not  one  sufficiently  keen, 
they  should  be  confined  to  the  farm-yard.  The  following  pre- 
paration may  be  given  to  them  every  morning  for  a  month  or 
six  weeks.  Boiled  potatoes,  mashed,  and  mixed  with  corn, 
buckwheat  or  barley  meal,  according  to  local  resources,  made 
into  a  paste  or  mush,  and  of  which  they  may  eat  as  much  as 
they  can.  Every  evening  the  remains  of  the  paste  must  be 
carefully  removed,  and  the  vessel  in  which  it  had  been  put  in 
the  morning,  thoroughly  cleansed.  The  food  of  this  bird  must 
be  kept  clean,  and  the  utmost  care  taken  not  to  give  them  on 
the  morrow  the  remains  of  the  paste  of  the  preceding  day. 

The  turkey  is  not  a  hardy  animal,  and  is  subject  to  diseases 
which  may  be  avoided  by  proper  treatment.  Sometimes  the 
plumage  bristles  up  all  over  the  body,  and  they  have  a  lan- 
guishing aspect;  on  examining  the  feathers  of  the  rump  atten- 
tively, two  or  three  will  be  found  whose  quill  part  is  filled 
with  blood;  remove  these  and  the  poor  turkey  is  soon  restored 
to  health  and  strength. 
35* 


414  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

The  Pintado  or  Guinea-fowl,  Xumida  Melcagris,  is  a  native  of  Africa, 
where  it  is  found  in  vast  flocks;  but  it  is  now  diifused  over  every  part  of  Eu- 
rope, the  West-India  Islands,  and  a  great  part  of  Anaerica.  The  pintado  is  a 
restless,  noisy  bird;  the  female  lays  numerous  eg^s,  which  are  smaller  than 
those  of  the  common  hen,  but  esteemed  much  more  delicate;  like  other  galli- 
naceous birds,  she  is  apt  to  secrete  her  eggs  until  she  has  produced  her  brood. 

The  pintado  is  an  agreeable  variety  in  the  poultry-yards,  liked  by  some  for 
its  flesh,  and  by  all  for  the  delicacy  of  its  egg'=^;  but  it  is  of  little  economical 
importance.  The  chicks  are  very  lender,  and  should  not  be  produced  too 
early  in  spring.  They  are  generally  hatched  b}'  the  common  hen,  who  either 
covers  a  large  number  of  them,  or  is  found  to  be  a  more  careful  nurse  than  the 
pintado  herself  The  method  of  rearing  and  feedmg  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
common  or  domestic  fowl. 

The  Peacock,  Pavo  cristatus.  need  scarcely  be  mentioned  as  a  bird  of  eco- 
nomical use.  Pea-hens  and  pea-chicks,  indeed,  are  occasionallv  used  for  food, 
but  this  splendid  creature  is,  and  ought  to  be,  regarded  solely  as  an  object  of 
beauty.  The  advantages  to  be  derived  from  rearing  it  for  food  are  not  to  be 
thought  of     They  are  a  native  of  India. 

The  Common  Pigeon,  Columba  livia,  is  a  race  of  birds  multiplied  through- 
out the  warmer  and  temperate  regions;  but  it  is  in  the  warmer  regions  that 
they  attain  to  their  greatest  size  and  beauty  of  plumage.  They  have  been  in 
all  ages  the  favourites  of  mankind,  to  which  their  innocence  and  beauty  seem 
to  give  them  a  peculiar  claim.  But  if  it  be  as  farmers  that  we  are  to  regard 
the  pigeon,  the  beautiful  favourite,  unfortunately,  cannot  attract  much  of  our 
regard.  Nothing  beyond  the  gratification  of  luxury  can  be  derived  from  the 
cultivation  of  the  domestic  pigeon  for  food.  In  vain  has  it  been  asserted  that 
pigeons  do  not  feed  upon  green  grain,  cannot  dig  into  the  earth  with  their 
bills,  do  little  harm  to  the  cultivated  crops,  and  consume  only  the  seeds  of  in- 
jurious plants.  The  experience  of  farmers  shows  that  the  damage  done  by 
these  creatures  to  our  various  crops  of  wheat,  peas,  and  beans,  is  very  great; 
and  certainly  the  waste  is  in  no  degree  compensated  for  by  the  quantity  which 
the  animals  afford  of  human  food. 

Yet,  as  pigeons  are  in  demand  as  objects  of  consumption,  and  as  they  afford 
a  luxury  and  convenience  to  those  who  live  in  the  country,  the  subject  of  their 
management  is,  like  every  branch  of  husbandry,  deserving  of  attention.  If 
pigeon-houses  are  to  exist  at  all,  those  who  possess  them  should  know  how 
they  are  to  be  best  managed,  so  th'.t  the  largest  return  may  be  derived  from 
them.  Though  there  is  scarce  any  branch  of  the  management  of  the  domestic 
fowls  more  misunderstood,  yet  the  essential  rule  of  management  is  simple.  Its 
principle  consists  in  regular  feeding,  in  giving  suflicieut  space  to  the  birds, 
and  in  paying  a  strict  attention  to  cleanliness. 

The  next  in  order  of  the  domestic  fowls  are  the  Web-footed.  These  birds, 
when  domesticated,  become  enlarged  in  their  form,  and  wholly  the  creatures 
of  their  new  condition,  though  they  still  remain  partial  to  an  aquatic  situation, 
swimming  with  facility,  and  feeding  on  fish,  insects,  and  the  leaves  and  grains 
of  aquatic  plants.  They  are  hardy,  easily  propagated  and  led,  and  afford  a 
rich  and  savoury  food. 

1.  The  Wild  Duck  or  Mallard,  An-as  boschaa,  is  the  original  of  the  common 
domestic  species.  It  is  widely  diffused  over  the  world,  inhabiting  America, 
Europe,  and  Asia.  These  birds  live  in  the  marches,  lakes,  and  rivers  of  the 
North  in  incredible  multitudes.  In  autunin,  they  migrate  southwards  in  nu- 
merous bodies,  the  greater  part  returning  in  spring  to  their  former  haunts, 
though  large  flocks  and  scattered  pairs  remain  and  breed  in  the  morasses  and 
rivers  of  lower  latitudes. 

The  wild  duck  in  its  natural  state  is  a  wonderfully  shy  and  cautious  crea- 
ture. It  breeds  once  in  the  year,  the  pairing  time  commencing  about  the  end 
of  February,  and  each  couple  living  apart  amongst  the  reeds  of  lakes,  rivers, 
and  marshes,  where  they  breed.  Nothing  can  be  more  tender  than  the  care 
of  their  offspring  by  these  birds.  The  ne^t  is  formed  on  the  ground,  generallj' 
in  a  tuft  of  reeds  or  rushes,  bent  into  form,  and  lined  with  the  down  of  the 
parents.  The  incubation  lasts  30  days;  when  the  female  quits  her  charge  for 
food,  she  covers  up  the  eggs,  the  male  in  the  mean  time  keeping  watch  near 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  4^5 

the  nest;  and  when  she  returns,  she  approaches  cautiously,  winding  that  she 
ma\'  avoid  discovery.  The  young  burst  their  shells  nearly  at  one  time,  and  in 
a  few  hours  the  parents  conduct  them  to  the  stream,  where  they  at  once  begin 
to  swim,  and  feed  on  herbs  and  insects;  and  at  night  they  are  gathered  together 
under  ihe  wings  of  the  dam.  In  three  months  they  can  fly;  and  in  three 
months  more  their  growth  and  plumage  are  complete. 

The  domestic  duck  adapts  his  habits  to  his  new  condition.  He  no  longer 
retires  with  one  female  to  pair,  and  tend  his  brood,  but  becomes  polygamous; 
and  he  loses  the  caution  and  sense  of  danger  which  distinguish  him  in  his 
wild  state.  Still,  as  in  the  wild  state,  by  means  of  his  nicely-formed  bill,  he 
finds  in  marshes  and  elsewhere  the  food  that  is  suited  to  him.  He  feeds  aliice 
upon  animal  and  vegetable  substances;  on  the  spawn  of  fish,  and  the  larvEe  of 
insects;  upon  grass,  ihe  seeds  of  aquatic  plants,  and  even  sea-weeds.  These 
birds  may  be  said  to  be  omnivorous,  and  this  it  is  which,  with  their  hardy 
qualities,  renders  them  so  easy  of  culture. 

The  duck  begins  to  lay  her  eggs  in  Februarj',  and,  obeying  her  natural  in- 
stinct, she  will,  unless  confined,  lay  them  abroad,  and  conceal  them.  During 
the  period  of  hatching,  she  requires  no  other  care  but  to  be  kept  undisturbed. 
When  she  wants  food,  she  will  go  in  search  of  it,  covering  up  her  eggs  as  in 
the  wild  state.  When  the  young  are  hatched,  they  should  be  allowed  to  re- 
main in  the  nest  so  long  as  the  dam  chooses;  after  which  she  may  be  put  into 
a  coop  in  the  open  air  during  the  day  for  a  short  time.  She  should  then  have 
a  full  allowance  of  good  food  and  water,  while  the  young  should  likewise  have 
a  flat  dish  put  down  to  them  with  water  frequently  renewed,  with  a  proper 
supplv  of  meal  or  other  farinaceous  food,  such  as  boiled  potatoes. 

A  common  hen  is  frequently  substituted  for  the  natural  parent  to  hatch  the 
eggs  of  the  duck.  But  wherever  there  are  any  pools  of  water,  the  proper 
nurse  is  the  duck  herself;  she  conducts  her  young  to  their  natural  element, 
and  brings  them  from  it  when  il  is  time,  while,  when  a  hen  is  the  nurse,  they 
disregard  her  signals  im  the  bank,  and  do  not  themselves  know  when  to  re- 
turn. 

The  feeding  of  these  fowls  is  eas)'.  In  certain  situations,  they  are  allowed 
access  to  their  natural  haunts,  the  marshes  and  the  bogs,  where  they  feed;  and 
when  they  are  to  be  ultimately  fatteued,  they  are  fed  tor  a  short  time  on  fari- 
naceous food.  As  in  the  case  of  other  fowls,  there  are  also  breeds  of  the  com- 
mon duck  more  or  less  valued;  and  there  are  some  singular  varieties,  as  the 
hook-billed  duck,  reared  in  aviaries  and  poultry-yards. 

The  Mallard  is  the  original  of  the  ducks  usually  reared  for  economical  pur- 
poses. Other  species,  too,  are  sometimes  domesticated.  One  of  these  is  the 
Chinese  duck.  Anas  galericidata.  A  large  species  is  the  Muscovy  duck,  or, 
as  he  ought  rather  to  be  called,  the  Musk  duck.  Anas  moschata,  a  native  of 
Paraguay,  and  the  neighbouring  province.  He  there  perches  on  trees  by  the 
sides  of  rivers  and  marshes,  and  breeds  several  times  in  the  year;  he  is  verv 
shy  in  his  wild"^state,  but  readily  submits  to  domestication;  he  is  larger  than 
the  common  species,  very  prolific,  and  easily  fattened. 

2.  The  Wild  Goose,  Anas  anser,  a  native  of  America,  is  another  of  this  valu- 
able family,  widely  extended  over  the  world,  and  susceptible  of  entire  subjec- 
tion to  the  will  of  man. 

Like  the  wild  duck,  this  fine  animal  quits  the  swamps  of  the  vast  wilder- 
nesses of  the  North  on  the  approach  of  winter,  and  migrates  far  to  the  South. 
From  50  to  100  individuals  are  oft«n  in  flight  together,  at  a  vast  height,  some- 
times beyond  the  reach  of  vision,  and  only  recognised  by  their  shrill  voices. 
All  have  witnessed  the  surprising  regularity  of  their  flight;  the  leaders  form- 
ing the  apex  of  an  angle,  and  cleaving  the  air,  as  il  were,  for  those  that  follow. 
They  pursue  their  lofty  flights  from  vast  distances,  and  when  they  alight  for 
food  or  rest,  they  station  sentinels,  to  guard  them  from  surprise. 

Part  of  them  remain  to  breed  in  the  lakes,  rivers,  and  fens  of  lower  latitudes, 
but  the  greater  number  of  them  return  to  the  boundless  regions  of  marsh  and 
forest  whence  they  had  taken  their  flight,  and  where  they  can  rear  their  young 
in  security. 

The  domestic  race  of  this  species  generally  loses  the  desire  of  escaping,  al- 
though a  few  instances  occur  of  the  tame  joining  the  wild  race.     The  tame 


416  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

variety  is  reared  in  every  civilized  countr}'.  Its  habits  render  it  an  easily  cul- 
tivated animal,  and  it  is  an  object  of  great  economical  importance  in  the  dis- 
tricts of  fens  and  marshes,  which  are  the  most  suited  to  the  rearing  of  it. 

The  period  of  incubation  is  from  27  to  30  days,  and  the  female  covers  con- 
veniently from  II  to  15  eggs.  She  manifests  the  period  by  carrying  straw  in 
her  mouth,  and  then  a  nest  should  be  prepared  for  her  in  a  secure  situation. 
During  the  time  of  hatching,  the  male  stands  a  watchful  sentmel,  and  will 
fiercely  attack  the  largest  animals  that  approach  the  nest. 

After  the  3'oung  are  brought  from  the  nest,  the  dam  may  be  penned  with 
them  on  a  spot  of  drv  grass,  while  farinaceous  food,  water,  and  any  whole- 
some green  herbs,  must  be  supplied.  After  a  short  time,  the  dam  and  her 
brood  should  be  allowed  to  forage  for  themselves  in  the  fields  and  marshes. 
They  are  perfectly  herbivorous,  and  will  graze  like  sheep.  Those  who  are 
favourably  situated  with  respect  to  the  means  of  rearing  these  fowls,  seldom 
give  themi  any  more  attention,  than  to  drive  the  broods,  with  the  dams,  to  the 
contiguous  fens  or  marshes  where  they  feed. 

In  situations  less  favourable,  more  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  feeding  of 
them.  They  must  be  well  supplied  with  food  like  other  fowls,  but  it  consti- 
tutes the  particular  facility  of  rearing  these  animals,  that  not  only  farinaceous 
substances,  but  every  kind  of  edible  herbs,  as  turnips,  potatoes,  tiie  refuse  of 
the  garden,  and  the  like,  may  be  given  to  them.  They  may  be  soiled,  too,  on 
clover  and  tares;  and  when  being  fattened,  steamed  potatoes,  meal  mixed  with 
milk,  and  the  like,  may  be  given  to  them. 

The  young  are  either  disposed  of  at  a  month  or  6  weeks  old,  when  they  are 
termed  green-geese,  or  they  are  retained  till  after  harvest,  and  fed  upon  the 
stubbles,  when  they  are  termed  stubble-geese.  If  they  shall  not  be  sufficiently 
fattened  on  the  stubbles,  they  must  be  put  up  to  feed,  all  that  is  necessary  in 
this  case  being,  to  give  them  plenty  of  water  and  constant  food,  and  to  litter 
them  carefully  with  straw. 

Besides  the  produce  in  flesh,  there  are  derived  from  this  animal  down  and 
feathers,  both  those  of  the  wings,  which  are  made  into  writing-quills,  and  those 
of  the  bod}',  which  are  applied  to  different  uses.  This  has  given  rise  to  the 
dreadful  barbarity  of  plucking  the  animals,  which  is  sometimes  done  five  times' 
in  the  year. 

3.  The  Domestic  Swan,  Anasolor,  has  in  this  country  ceased  to  be  regarded 
as  food,  and  is  now  preserved  solely  for  the  beauty  and  majesty  of  his  form, 
with  respect  to  which  he  is  the  noblest  of  all  the  water-fowls.  He  feeds  like 
the  goose,  but  is  more  aquatic  in  his  habits.  He  is  gentle  and  familiar  to  his 
keepers,  eating  his  food  from  the  hand;  but  while  engaged  in  the  rearing  of 
his  brood,  he  is  fierce  and  dangerous  to  be  approached.  He  is  a  bird  of  great 
courage,  but  is  never  the  assailant  of  others. 

It  is  stated  on  the  authority  of  the  Mai  tie  Farmer,  that  geese 

may  be  fattened  on  turnips  with  very  little  trouble  or  expense. 

The  turnips  are  cut  in  small  pieces  resembling  dice,  but  smaller, 

and  placed  in  a  trough  of  water.     An  experiment  was  made, 

and  it  was  found  that  with  this  food  alone,  six  geese,  each  of 

which  when  lean  weighing  nine  pounds,  actually  gained  twenty 

pounds  each  in  three  weeks  fattening.     Malt  is  an  excellent 

food  for  geese. 


VII.    BEES— THEIR  MANAGEMENT,  &c. 

The  common  honey  bee,  the  Apis  mdlifica  of  Linn,  is 
cultivated  in  every  civilized  country.  The  bee  is  an  interest- 
ing subject  to  the  lover  of  natural  history;  while  at  the  same 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  417 

time  it  deserves  the  most  careful  attention  of  the  farmer,  as  one 
of  those  means  within  his  reach  of  contributing  greatly  to  his 
domestic  comforts,  and  increasing  his  annual  profits  with  very 
little  care.  The  culture  of  bees  has  been  neglected  in  many 
sections,  because  their  proper  mode  of  management  was  not 
understood.  There  is  no  general  rule,  applicable  to  all  cases, 
as  the  treatment  varies  in  almost  every  district,  and  the  most 
successful  apiarians.  As  we  regard  the  culture  of  this  indus- 
trious insect  as  highly  important  to  the  comfort  as  well  as  the 
pecuniary  interests  of  the  community,  we  give  below,  from  the 
best  authorities,  such  information  as  may  enable  the  young 
beginner  especially  to  conduct  his  operations  to  a  successful 
and  profitable  issue. 

A  hive  of  bees  may  be  considered  as  a  populous  city,  containing  from  fif- 
teen to  eighteen  thousand  inhabitants.  This  city  is  in  itself  a  republic,  where 
well  ordered  industry  and  perfect  equality  reigns.  The  combs  are  composed 
of  pure  wax,  serving  as  a  magazine  for  their  stores,  and  a  place  to  nourish 
their  young.  Between  the  combs  there  is  a  space  sufficient  for  two  bees  to 
march  abreast;  and  there  are  also  transverse  defiles,  by  which  the  bees  can 
more  easily  pass  from  one  comb  to  another. 

According  to  Columella,*  an  Apiarij  should  face  the  south,  in  a  situation 
neither  too  hot  nor  too  cold.  It  should  stand  in  a  valley,  that  the  bees  may 
with  greater  ease  descend,  on  their  return  to  the  hive;  and  near  the  mansion- 
house,  and  situated  at  a  distance  from  noise  and  offensive  smells;  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  a  brook  or  river.  Where  the  bees  cannot  have  the  benefit  of  run- 
ning water,  they  ought  to  be  supplied  with  it  in  a  trough  provided  with  small 
stones,  on  which  they  may  stand  while  they  drink.  They  cannot  produce 
either  combs,  honey,  or  food  for  their  maggots,  without  water;  but  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  rivers  or  canals  with  high  banks,  ought  to  be  avoided,  lest  the 
bees  should  be  precipitated  into  the  water  by  high  winds,  and  consequently 
perish.  The  garden  in  which  the  apiary  stands,  should  be  supplied  with  mel- 
liferous plants  and  branchy  shrubs,  that  the  swarms  which  settle  on  them  may 
be  the  more  easily  hived.  Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  circum- 
stance, that  the  bees  be  hived  in  a  neighbourhood  productive  of  such  plants  as 
supply  them  with  food;  such  as  thyme,  the  oak,  the  pine,  fruit-trees,  furze, 
broom,  mustard,  clover,  heath,  &c.  Pliny  recommends  broom,  as  a  plant 
particularly  grateful  and  profitable  to  bees. 

It  is  well  known  that  bees,  when  properly  cultivated,  produce  considerable 
profit,  and  in  order  to  obtain  the  greatest  possible  advantage,  it  is  necessary 
to  supply  them  with  every  convenience  for  the  support  of  themselves  and  their 
young.  We  should  also  contrive  means  to  take  the  wax  and  honey  with  the 
smallest  possible  loss.  In  short,  when  the  apiary  is  placed  in  a  good  situation, 
(either  south  or  south-west,)  that  is,  in  a  country  abounding  with  (lowers,  at  a 
distance  from  brew-houses,  smelting  works,  &c.  the  next  and  most  important 
point,  is  the  choice  of  well  constructed  hives. 

The  old  practice,  and  one  which  obtains  to  a  very  consider- 
able extent  even  to  this  day,  in  almost  every  country,  was  to 
construct  the  hives  out  of  straw.  They  were  generally  ill-con- 
trived— and  almost,  if  not  quite,  impossible  to  remove  either 
the  wax  or  honey  without  destroying  the  bees,  a  practice 
as  barbarous  as  it  is  unnecessary.  Nothing  we  conceive  can 
be  more  cruel  and  revolting  to  the  feelings  of  true  humanity, 

*  Who  wrote  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour. 


418 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


than  the  destruction  of  these  industrious  and  inoffensive  little 
creatures,  in  order  for  man  to  obtain  the  fruits  of  their  industry 
and  toil. 

Reflecting  on  these  circumstances,  M.  Harasti,  during  his  cultivation  of 
bees,  conceived  that  it  would  be  possible  to  form  a  hive  which  should  have  all 
the  advantages  of  th©  best  kind,  while  the  simplicity  and  cheapness  of  its  con- 
struction, might  bring  it  into  use  among  husbandmen. 

A  good  bee-hive  ought  to  possess  the  following  properties:  First,  it  should 
be  capable  of  enlargement  or  contraction,  according  to  the  number  of  the 
swarm.  Secondly,  it  should  admit  of  being  opened  without  disturbing  the 
bees,  either  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  it;  of  freeing  it  from  insects;  of  increas- 
ing or  dividing  the  swarm;  or  for  the  admission  of  a  stock  of  provisions  for  the 
winter.  Thirdly,  it  should  be  so  constructed,  that  the  produce  may  be  remov- 
ed without  injury  to  the  bees.  Fourthly,  it  should  be  internally  clean,  smooth, 
and  free  from  flaws.     All  these  properties  unite  in  the  hive  here  described. 

It  is  formed  of  four  open  square  boxes,  A,  B,  C,  D,  as  represented  by  the 
following  cut: 

These  boxes  are  fastened  to 
each  other  by  several  wooden  but- 
tons, J,  J,  &c.  which  turn  upon  a 
rod  01'  screw.  The  whole  is  cover- 
ed with  a  moveable  roof,  which 
projects  over  the  boxes  slanting 
frgm  the  centre  a,  that  the  rain- 
water may  run  off.  It  is  necessa- 
ry to  place  astoneonthe  topof  the 
roof,  to  keep  it  on  firm. 

Instead  of  buttons,  the  boxes 
may  be  combined  by  a  rabbet  fast- 
ened with  wooden  pegs;  but  in 
either  case,  the  conjoined  parts 
should  be  closed  with  cement.  If 
the  swarm  is  not  very  numerous, 
three,  or  even  two,  boxes  will  be 
suflicient.  Each  of  them  should 
be  about  three  inches,  or  three 
inches  and  a  half  in  height,  and  about  six  inches  in  the  clear  within.  They 
should  be  made  of  wood,  at  least  three  quarters  of  an  inch  thick,  that  the  bees, 
wax,  &c.  may  be  less  afiected  by  changes  in  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere. 
Within  the  boxes,  at  the  upper  part,  there  should  be  fixed  two  bars,  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  with  the  extremities  extending  to  the  angles  of  the  box,  as  is 
represented  in  the  following  figure. 

To  these  bars  the  bees  attach  their  combs.  At  the 
lower  part  of  each  box,  in  front,  there  must  be  an 
aperture  or  door,  as  at  c,  c,  c,  d,  as  high  as  is  neces- 
sary for  the  bees  to  pass  convenientlj',  and  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  wide;  of  these  apertures,  only  the 
lowest  (marked  <f,)  is  to  be  left  open  for  the  passage 
of  the  bees;  the  others  are  to  be  closed  by  means  of  a 
piece  of  wood,  properly  fitted  to  them. 

It  must  be  evident  that  this  bee-hive  has  all  the 
advantages  before  mentioned.  To  lessen  or  enlarge 
it,  only  requires  a  diminution  or  increase  of  a  number  of  the  boxes;  and  a 
communication  with  the  internal  part  can  easily  be  eflfected  by  the  removal  of 
the  cover. 

The  cheapness  and  facility  of  the  construction  of  this  hive  is  evident,  as 
nothing  is  requisite  but  to  join  four  boards  with  nails,  or  in  any  other  manner, 
so  simple  that  it  may  be  done  by  a  day-labourer. 

When  the  hives  are  made,  they  should  be  placed  in  a  good  situation:  the 
best  is  south-west;  but  they  must  not  be  too  much  exposed  to  the  heat  of  noon, 
which  may  be  mitigated,  by  placing  the  branches  of  trees  to  shade  the  hives, 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  4^9 

as  violent  heat  is  injurious,  not  onl)-  to  the  bees,  but  to  the  wax  and  honey. 
The  country  around  the  apiary  should  be  of  a  sandy  soil,  abounding  with 
plants  and  shrubs.  As  bees  love  cleanliness  and  quiet,  the  circumjacent  space 
should  be  kept  clean,  and  free  from  offensive  smells  and  noise;  smoke  is  par- 
ticularly disagreeable  to  them.  The  boards  or  table  on  which  the  hives  are 
placed,  should  be  dry,  clean,  and  sound;  and  the  hives  ought  to  be  siithciently 
raised  to  prevent  their  exposure  to  dampness  and  insects;  they  should  also  be 
kept  at  a  distance  from  a  wall,  to  avoid  the  reflected  heat  of  the  sun.  In  the 
table  on  which  the  hives  are  to  stand,  there  should  be  an  aperture,  under  each, 
about  two  inches  square,  as  it  is  represented  at  c,  in  the  following  cut; 

This  aperture  should  be  covered  with  a  piece 
of  tin,  drilled  full  of  small  holes,  so  as  to  afford 
a  free  passage  to  the  air,  and  at  the  same  time 
prevent  the  ingress  of  insects.  That  this  may 
not  occasion  any  inconvenience  to  the  bees  in 
cold  and  damp  weather,  there  must  be  a  sliding 

Eiece  of  wood,  /,  under  the  tin,  by  which  the 
ole  may  be  completely  covered. 

When  it  is  intended  to  introduce  a  swarm  of 
bees  into  a  new  hive,  it  must  be  thoroughly 
cleaned,  and  the  inside  rubbed  with  virgin  wax. 
It  is  advantageous  to  place  a  piece  of  clean  honey-comb,  about  nine  inches 
long,  in  the  hive,  and  care  should  also  be  taken  to  choose  that  which  is  made 
of  very  white  wax.  This  piece  being  supported  by  a  stick  passed  through  it, 
offers  to  the  bees  a  kind  of  nest,  and  excites  them  to  continue  their  work. 

The  new  hive  being  thus  prepared,  the  manner  of  introducing  the  bees  into 
it,  from  an  old  hive,  is  as  follows;  the  latter  must  be  placed  upon  one  of  the 
boxes  of  the  new  one;  but  as  it  will  seldom  happen  that  they  are  of  the  same 
size,  and  exactly  fit  each  other,  a  board,  at  least  as  wide  as  the  largest  of  the 
two  hives,  and  which  has  a  hole  equal  in  size  to  the  smallest,  must  be  placed 
between  them,  and  completely  joined  with  cement,  or  by  any  other  means,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  be  quite  close,  and  to  leave  the  bees  no  passage  except 
into  the  new  hive.  As  these  insects  generally  work  downwards,  they  will 
soon  get  into  the  new  hive;  and,  when  it  is  occupied  by  about  one-half  of  the 
swarm,  some  holes  must  be  made  in  the  top  of  the  old  hive,  and  kept  covered, 
till  the  proper  time  for  making  use  of  them. 

Every  thing  being  disposed  as  above  directed,  we  must  take  the  opportunity 
of  a  fine  morning  (but  not  a  very  hot  one),  about  eight  or  nine  o'clock,  at 
which  time  most  of  the  bees  are  generally  out  of  the  hive,  gathering  their 
harvest.  The  comb  is  to  be  cut  through,  by  means  of  a  piece  of  iron  wire, 
and  the  old  hive,  with  the  board  on  which  it  stands,  is  to  be  separated  from 
the  new  one.  An  assistant  must  immediately  place  the  cover  (already  well 
fitted)  upon  the  top  of  the  new  hive.  The  old  hive  is  then  to  be  taken  away, 
to  the  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  paces,  and  to  be  there  placed  upon  two  chairs, 
or  other  supports,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  quite  firm;  but  leaving  a  free 
space,  both  above  and  below,  for  the  following  purpose. 

Upon  this  old  hive  (the  holes  at  the  top  of  it  being  first  opened)  is  to  be 
placed  one  of  the  boxes  of  the  new  hive,  having  the  cover  loosely  fastened  on 
it,  so  that  it  can  easily  be  removed;  this  box  must  be  fixed  upon  the  old  hive, 
in  such  a  manner  (by  closing  the  intervals  between  them  with  linen  cloths, 
&c.)  that  the  bees,  upon  going  out  by  the  holes  in  the  top  of  the  old  hive,  can 
only  go  into  the  new  one.  In  order  to  drive  them  into  it,  some  live  coals  must 
be  placed  under  the  old  hive,  upon  which  a  few  linen  rags  may  be  thrown,  to 
produce  a  great  volume  of  smoke.  As  the  smoke  rises,  the  bees,  being  incom- 
moded by  it;  will  ascend  to  the  top  of  the  old  hive,  and  at  length  will  go  through 
the  holes  into  the  new  one.  When  all  the  bees,  or  nearly  iill,  are  gone  into  it, 
(which  may  be  known  by  looking  in  at  the  little  door,  or  by  their  noise,)  it  is 
to  be  removed  gently  from  the  old  hive,  and  placed  under  the  box  already 
alluded  to,  the  top  or  cover  being  previously  taken  olf.  The  next  morning,  if 
it  should  appear  that  the  two  boxes,  of  which  the  new  hive  is  now  composed, 
do  not  afford  sufficient  space  for  the  bees,  a  third  box  may  be  added,  under  the 
others;  and  after  that  a  fourth,  if  necessary,  as  their  work  goes  on,  changing 


420      REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

them  from  time  to  time,  so  long  as  the  season  permits  the  bees  to  gather  wax 
and  honey. 

In  performing  the  operations  here  described,  it  will  be  necessary  to  defend 
the  hands  and  face  from  the  stings  of  the  bees.  The  best  way  of  doing  this, 
is  to  cover  the  whole  of  the  head,  neck,  &c.  (over  a  hat)  with  coarse  cloth,  or 
canvass,  which  may  be  brought  as  low  as  the  waistcoat,  and  lastened  lo  it: 
through  this  cloth  we  may  see  the  operations  of  the  bees,  without  fearing  their 
stings.  The  hands  may  be  protected  by  means  of  gloves,  of  which  the  best 
are  those  made  of  wool. 

When  we  mean  to  bring  a  new  swarm  into  a  hive,  that  prepared  as  above, 
and  formed  of  two,  three,  or  four  boxes,  according  to  the  size  of  the  swarm, 
must  be  brought  near  the  place  where  the  swarm  is.  The  upper  box,  with 
the  cover  fastened  on  (but  so  that  it  may  easily  be  removed,)  must  be  taken 
from  the  others.  The  cross  bars,  before  described,  should  be  smeared  with 
honey,  diluted  with  a  little  M'ater;  the  small  door  must  be  shut;  and  the  box 
must  be  turned  upside  down,  and  brought  under  the  swarm,  which  is  then  to 
be  introduced,  in  the  same  way,  and  with  similar  precaution,  as  into  a  com- 
mon hive.  When  the  whole  swarm  is  in  the  box,  it  is  to  be  carried  to  the 
other  boxes  (previously  placed  in  the  destined  situation),  and,  turning  it  very 
carefully,  is  to  be  put  upon  them.  The  buttons  are  then  to  be  turned,  the 
interstices  closed  with  the  cement  already  described,  and  all  the  little  doors 
closed,  except  the  lowest,  through  which  the  bees  are  to  pass.  Nothing  is 
more  disagreeable  to  a  fresh  swarm  than  a  hot  sun,  for  which  reason,  that  the 
bees  may  not  wish  to  leave  their  new  habitation,  it  will  be  right  to  shade  the 
hive  for  some  days. 

A  hive  made  in  the  manner  here  pointed  out,  appears  to  me  to  be  such  as 
would  be  most  useful  to  husbandmen  in  general,  who  wish  to  cultivate  bees; 
but  a  hive  may  be  made  upon  the  same  principles,  which  will  .shew  the  work 
of  the  bees,  through  its  whole  progress,  and  thereby  enable  any  one  to  study 
the  natural  history  of  these  wonderful  insects. 

A  hive  of  this  kind  is  composed  of  three  or  four  boxes,  with  a  cover,  like  the 
hive  already  described;  it  may  also  be  of  the  same  form  and  size.  But  in 
every  box,  on  that  side  which  is  opposite  the  little  door,  there  must  be  fixed  a 
pane  of  glass,  with  a  sliding  shutter  over  it,  so  that  by  drawing  back  these 
sliders,  the  inside  of  the  hive  will  be  exposed  to  view.  To  see  the  bees  at 
work,  however,  it  is  necessary  that  the  comb  should  be  dispo.^ed  in  a  regular 
manner,  and  perpendicular  to  the  pane  of  glass.  This  may  be  obtained,  by 
placing  in  the  boxes,  instead  of  the  two  cross-sticks  already  described,  on  p. 
418,  five  parallel  sticks  or  bars,  as  represented  in  the  following  figure. 

The  bees  will  attach  their  combs  to  these  bars,  and 
the  intermediate  space  will  afford  sufficient  light  for 
seeing  them  work.  If  more  light  is  desired,  it  may  be 
obtained  by  opening  the  little  doors  opposite  the  glass; 
which  doors  may  be  made  considerably  higher  than 
is  above  directed,  and  may  have  a  slider  over  them, 
by  which  their  aperture  may  be  diminished  at  plea- 
sure. 

The  sliders  which  cover  the  panes  of  glass,  ought 
never  to  be  opened,  except  for  the  purpose  of  observ- 
ing the  bees;  because  a  strong  light  lessens  their  dis- 
position to  work.  If  it  should  be  perceived  ihat  the  coldness  df  the  glass  is 
prejudicial  to  the  bees  in  winter,  it  may  then  be  covered  with  a  cotton  cloth; 
or  it  may  be  entirely  taken  away,  and  a  piece  of  paste-board  put  in  its  place; 
for  at  that  time,  the  operations  of  the  bees  are  suspended. 

Instead  of  making  a  little  door  to  each  box,  to  be  left  open  when  the  box  is 
lowermost,  for  the  passage  of  the  bees,  perhaps  it  might  be  better  (because 
more  simple)  to  cut  a  groove  in  the  board  or  table  on  which  the  hive  is  placed. 
This  groove  should  be  about  two  inches  wide,  and  about  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  high  at  the  outer  edge,  and  should  be  gradually  diminished,  both  in  width 
and  height,  towards  the  part  where  it  meets  the  hive,  as  is  represented  at  b,  in 
the  following;  figure. 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 


421 


Two  advantagfes  are  derived 
from  this  construction.  First, 
the  little  door  in  the  box,  and  the 
contrivance  for  opening  and 
sluittinjr  it,  will  be  unnecessarj'. 
Secondly,  it  is  sometimes  pro- 
per to  diminish  or  enlarge  the 
opening  for  the  passage  of  the 
bees,  according  to  circumstances, 
Avithout  shutting  it  entirely,  and 
this  may  be  done  with  the  great- 
est ease,  by  moving  the  hive 
nearer  to,  or  farther  from,  the 
edge  of  the  table;  or  this  passage 
may  be  entirely  closed,  by  mov- 
ing the  front  of  the  hive  beyond 
the  groove;  but  in  that  case  some 
small  holes  must  be  made  in  tiie 
hive  to  let  in  air,  which  may  be 
stopped  up  when  that  formed  by  the  groove  is  open. 

A  farther  advantage  attending  this  construction  is,  that  as  the  groove  will 
liave  a  slanting  direction,  the  bees  will  thereby  be  enabled,  with  very  little 
trouble,  to  remove  l>om  the  hive  any  dead  bees,  excrement,  &c.  which  maybe 
obnoxious  to  their  nature. 

Whoever  intends  to  erect  an  apiary,  should  purchase  hives  toM-ards  the 
close  of  the  year,  when  they  are  cheapest;  and  such  only  as  are  full  of  combs, 
and  stocked  with  a  sufficient  number  of  bees.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  age  of 
the  hives,  it  should  be  remarked,  that  the  combs  of  the  last  year  are  white, 
while  those  of  the  former  year  acquire  a  darkish  yellow.  Where  the  combs 
are  black,  the  hive  should.be  rejected  as  too  old,  and  liable  to  the  inroads  of 
vermin. 

Bees  never  swarm  till  the  hive  is  too  much  crowded  by  the  young  brood. 
They  sometimes  begin  to  swarm  in  May,  or  earlier,  according  to  the  warmth 
of  the  season.  As  soon  as  a  swarm  is  settled,  the  bees  should  be  immediately 
hived,  to  prevent  their  taking  wing  again.  If  they  settle  on  a  low  branch  of  a 
tree,  it  may  be  cut  otf  and  laid  on  a  cloth,  the  hive  being  ready  for  their  recep- 
tion; but  if  it  be  difficult  to  reach  them,  it  will  be  advisable  to  let  them  remain 
where  they  have  settled  till  the  evening,  when  there  will  be  less  danger  of 
their  escaping. 

When  the  swarm  is  hived,  they  should  be  innmediately  removed  to  the 
apiary,  but  the  hive  should  be  kept  near  the  place  at  which  the  bees  settled, 
till  the  evening,  lest  some  stragglers  might  be  lost. 

The  usual  method  of  uniting  swarms,  is  b}^  spreading  a  cloth  at  night  upon 
the  ground  close  to  the  hive  in  which  the  two  swarms  are  to  be  placed.  Lay 
a  stick  across  the  cloth,  on  which  place  the  hive  with  the  new  swarm:  on 
giving  a  smart  stroke  on  the  top  of  the  hive,  all  the  bees  will  drop  in  a  cluster 
upon  the  cloth.  Then  take  another  hive  from  the  stool,  and  place  it  over  the 
bees,  when  they  will  ascend  into  it,  and  mix  with  those  alieady  there.  An- 
other method  is,  to  invert  the  hive  in  which  the  united  swarms  are  to  live,  and 
strike  the  bees  of  the  other  hives  into  it,  in  the  manner  before  described. 

A  large  swarm  weighs  eight  pounds,  and  others  gradually  less,  to  one 
pound.  Hence  a  good  swarm  should  weigh  five  or  six  pounds.  Such  as  are 
less  than  four  pounds  weight,  should  be  strengthened  by  a  small  additional 
swarm.  The  size  of  the  hive  ought  to  be  proportionate  to  the  number  of  the 
bees,  and  it  should  be  rather  too  small  than  too  large,  as  these  insects  require 
10  be  kept  warmer  than  a  large  hive  will  admit. 

In  Britain,  it  is  usual,  in  taking  the  honey,  to  deprive  the  bees  of  their  lives. 
The  common  method  is,  to  suffi)cate  them  with  the  smoke  of  brimstone;  but 
Mr.  Mani.ey  has  adopted  a  more  humane  and  judicious  plan:  he  says,  "I  never 
destroy  the  old  stock  of  bees;  but  after  lifting  them,  to  examine  what  honey 
there  is,  if  I  think  the  hive  is  full,  I  put  another  under  it  with  a  flat  top,  having 
a  square  hole  in  ihe  centre.     When  the  bees  are  in  the  under  hive,  I  place  a 

36 


422  REARI^'G  A^'D  FEEDI>-G  OF  ANIMALS. 

shutter,  which  is  of  wood,  in  the  hole  at  the  top;  and  that  prevents  them  from 
going  into  the  upper  hive.  I  then  invert  it  in  a  bucket,  and  strike  it  with  a 
rod  till  I  think  they  are  all  out,  alter  which  they  go  into  the  under  hive."' 

The  following  observations  were  published  by  George  Morgan.  Esq.,  for- 
merly of  Princeton,  Xew  Jersey. 

'•Several  writers  on  the  management  of  bees,  have  given  very  ingenious  di- 
rections for  taking  their  new  made  honey,  without  destroying  those  useful 
creatures.  M)- humanity,  hurt  at  the  idea  of  setting  fire  to  the  fatal  match, 
induced  me  to  imitate  their  methods;  particularly  those  of  Mr.  Wildjian,  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  White,  whose  directions  I  observed  very  attentively,  with  some 
success;  but  my  expectations  were  not  gratified,  as  I  found  young  broods  in 
every  hive  I  took,  and  consequently  the  honey  obtained  was  impure.  .  .  .  How- 
ever, after  a  variety  of  experiments.  I  discovered  an  agreeable,  safe,  and  easy 
way  to  take  the  honey,  without  the  least  injury  or  disturbance  of  the  bees. 

As  I  have  experienced  great  pleasure,  and  some  benefit  from  my  discovery, 
I  take  this  opportunity  to  lay  it  before  the  Agricultural  Society. 

My  boxes  are  made,  after  the  manner  of  Mr.  White's,  of  any  well-seasoned 
wood,  ten  inches  square  in  the  clear;  in  pairs,  with  communications  at  the 
sides,  for  the  bees  to  pass  freely  from  one  box  to  another:  a  pane  of  glass  (7  by 
9)  with  a  sliding  shutter,  may  be  put  into  the  back  part  of  each  box,  through 
which  you  may  see  the  bees  at  work.  Any  person  who  can  handle  a  saw  and 
hammer,  may  make  the  boxes  at  a  small  expense. 

The  communications  between  the  boxes  are  at  top  and  bottom;  tho.=;e  at  top 
should  be  three  inches  long,  and  half  an  inch  wide,  to  serve  as  streets  or  alleys 
betwixt  the  hives. 

The  communications  at  bottom  should  be  five  or  six  inches  long  and  three 
fourths  of  an  inch  deep,  so  as  to  aiibrd  a  free  passage  from  one  hive  to  the 
other. 

The  tnouth  of  the  hive  may  be  from  three  to  ten  inches  long,  and  half  an 
inch  deep.  In  the  busy  season,  this  wide  entrance  facilitates  the  bees  going 
out  and  coming  in,  and  may  be  contracted  at  pleasure  in  autumn. 

Early  the  next  morning  after  hiving  a  swarm  of  bees  in  one  of  these  boxes, 
I  add  another  to  it,  the  door  of  which  I  close  until  the  bees  begin  to  work  in  it; 
when  I  open  it  to  facilitate  their  industrv. 

Each  box,  of  the  above  dimensions,  will  contain  thirty  pounds  of  hone)'.  .  .  . 
An  early  swarm,  in  a  favourable  situation  and  season,  will  fill  two  boxes,  and 
cast  out  several  swarms;  each  of  which  will  fill  two  boxes  with  honey. 

As  winter  approaches,  all  the  bees  collect  themselves  into  one  box,  and  will 
leave  the  other,  with  its  contents,  to  the  use  of  the  owner,  whose  profit,  in  good 
seasons,  will  be  90  lbs.  of  honey,  and  several  additional  swarms,  for  every 
stock  kept  over  the  preceding  winter.  ...  15  or  '20  lbs.  of  honey  are  sufficient 
to  keep  a  stock  over  our  longest  winters,  but  I  leave  them  30  lbs. 

Thus  I  acquire  the  purest  honey,  without  the  use  of  the  match,  or  any  trou- 
ble in  dividing  or  disturbing  the  bees;  for  on  turning  up  the  hives  (which  have 
no  glasses)  I  discover,  immediately,  that  m  which  the  bees  are  collected,  and 
I  carry  ofi'the  other,  without  a  single  bee  in  it. 

The  losses  and  disappointments  I  have  met  with  in  a  great  variety  of  expe- 
riments, induce  me  to  recommend  this  management  to  every  lover  of  bees,  as 
I  have  foimd  it  easy,  pleasant,  and  profitable." 

It  ought  to  be  observed,  that  all  honey  is  not  wholesome.  Bees  indiscrimi- 
nately sip  the  flowers  of  all  plants  abounding  with  sweets;  and  as  some  of  these 
plants  are  of  a  poisonous  nature,  it  follows  that  the  honey  must  partake  of 
their  injurious  qualities.  Dr.  Barton  has  written  a  very  excellent  paper  on 
this  subject.  A7ner.  Phil.  Trans,  vol.  5th.  The  plants  aflx)rding  this  poisonou.s' 
honey  are,  kalmia  angustifolia,  or  dwarf  laurel;  kalmia  laiifolia,  or  great 
laurel;  kal.  hirsuta,  a  pretty  little  shrub  of  the  southern  states;  andromeda 

mariana,  or  broad-leaved  moorwort As  these  are  very  plentiful  in  many 

of  the  American  forests,  their  blossoms  afix)rd  much  honey  for  the  wild  bees. 

Dr.  B.  thinks  that  it  will  be  found  that  other  plants  yield  unwholesome 
honey;  such  are,  1.  Rhododendron  vuiximtom,  or  Pennsv-lvania  mountain  laurel; 
azo.lia  nvdijlora,  or  wild  honey  suckie;  and  datura  stramoiiium,  or  Jamestown 
weed.     The  four  first  mentioned  plants  ought  to  be  extirpated  m  the  neigh- 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  403 

bourhood  of  bee-hives;  and  the  honey  produced  from  the  three  ennmerated  in 
the  second  place  as  suspicious,  should  be  carefully  examined  to  determine  the 
fact  with  regard  to  them. 

Job  Roberts,  E^q.,  a  gentleman  long  and  favourably  known,  especially  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania  as  an  enlightened  practical  farmer,  says,  in 
his  Treatise  on  Flusbandry,  published  nearl}^  forty  years  since,  that  honey 
may  be  taken  without  destroying  the  bees  by  putting  nnder  the  hive  another 
with  a  flat  board  on  the  top  and  a  square  hole  in  the  middle  for  the  bees  to  de- 
scend through;  there  must  be  a  sliding  shutter  to  the  hole  to  shut  it,  when  the 
bees  have  descended  into  the  lower  one.  They  will  sometimes  fill  this  also, 
and  require  a  second  to  be  put  under.  The  time  for  taking,  the  end  of  June 
or  beginning  of  July. 

Honey  collected  from  the  flowers  growing  in  meadows,  pasture  lands,  trees, 
and  cultivated  crops,  is  almost  as  limpid  as  the  purest  oil,  and  the  wax  nearly 
as  white  as  snow.  Collected  from  buckwheat  is  harsh.  It  is  collected  from 
what  is  improperly  called  honey  dew,  as  well  as  from  flowers.  •  Taken  only 
once  in  two  years,  it  is  richer  and  more  solid,  and  will  keep  better  than  what 
is  taken  every  year.  Bees,  when  their  stores  are  exhausted,  should  be  fed  with 
honey  hard  pressed  from  the  comb,  M'hich  contains  bee-bread  as  well  as  honey. 
They  cannot  be  kept  alive  with  pure  lioney  alone.  To  feed  them,  cover  a 
plate  with  thin  cut  comb,  and  fill  the  cells  either  with  honey  or  coarse  sugar, 
mixed  with  middle  beer — it  must  not  be  too  thick. 

In  some  years  a  stock  will  increase  itself  sixfold.  The  bees  of  one  society 
will  attack  those  of  another  society,  plunder  them  of  their  honey,  and  destroy 
most  of  them,  perhaps  all  of  them,  in  battle.  The  best  method  of  putting  a  stop 
to  these  battles,  is  to  remove  the  attacked  hive  to  a  distant  part  of  the  garden. 

Since  the  importance  of  the  bee  culture  has  been  made  apparent,  a  variety 
of  plans  have  been  adopted  by  our  ingenious  countrymen  to  raise  them  suc- 
cessful!}', and  to  take  their  surplus  store  of  honey  without  resorting  to  the  cruel 
practice  of  depriving  them  of  life.  A  Mr.  Luda,  of  Connecticut,  has  invented 
a  contrivance,  by  means  of  which  bees  are  made  to  build  their  cells  and  deposit 
their  honey  in  the  chamber  of  a  dwelling  house  appropriated  to  the  purpose, 
in  neat  little  drawers,  from  which  it  may  be  taken  fresh  by  the  owner,  without 
killing  them.  A  Connecticut  paper  describes  it  as  follows;  "The  hive  has 
the  appearance  of,  and  is  in  part,  a  mahogany  bureau  or  sideboard,  with 
drawers  above  and  a  closet  below,  with  glass  doors.  This  case  or  bureau  is 
designed  to  be  placed  in  a  chamber  of  the  house,  or  any  other  suitable  build- 
ing, and  connected  with  the  open  air  or  outside  of  the  house  by  a  tube  passing 
through  the  wall.  The  bees  work  and  deposit  their  honey  in  drawers.  When 
these  or  any  of  them  are  full,  or  if  it  is  desired  to  obtain  honey,  one  or  more  of 
them  may  be  taken  out,  the  bees  allowed  to  escape  into  the  other  part  of  the 
hive,  and  the  honey  taken  away."  The  glass  doors  allow  the  working  of  the 
bees  to  be  observed — and  it  is  added  that  the  spaciousness,  cleanliness,  and  the 
even  temperature  of  the  habitations  provided  for  them  in  this  manner,  render 
them  the  more  industrious. 

A  Kentuck]!  bcc-hnusc  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  F.  C.  Fisher.*  It  is  recom- 
mended by  competent  judges,  we  are  informed,  as  being  highly  commendable 
for  its  convenience  and  cheapness.  The  building  is  twelve  feet  long,  eight 
wide,  and  seven  feet  high  from  the  floor  to  the  plate  or  ceiling,  (the  floor  being 
eighteen  inches  from  the  ground,)  and  consists  of  four  posts,  eleven  feet  six 
inches  long,  let  in  the  ground  three  feet,  which  is  weather-boarded  round,  and 
covered  in  so  as  to  prevent  the  bees  from  getting  in  the  liouse,  they  being  con- 
fined in  six  boxes,  three  on  either  side  of  the  house,  placed  fifieen  inches  one 
above  another.  This  drawing  (fig.  1)  represents 
one  side  of  the  house,  viewed  from  the  outside. 

Fi?.  1,  No.  1  1,  are  copper  troughs  running 
round  the  post,  half  way  between  the  floor  and 
ground,  which  are  kept  filled  with  water  to  pre- 
vent ants  and  other  insects  from  getting  in  the 
house.  No.  2,  3,  and  4  are  tubes  eight  inches 
wide,  one-eighth  of  an  inch  deep,  to  convey  the 
bees  through  the  wall  into  the  long  boxes,  and  en- 1' 
tering  them  at  the  bottom,  there  being  three  to  each  Fig.  1. 


rn    rn    r-\ 


.n   m  izL 


*  Farmer's  Cabinet,  June  15,  1839. 


424 


REARING  AXD  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS 


^i^rs/^-^rsr^r^ 

H 

r\r\ 

/^r^  r\  r^^ 

r\r\ 

2                     1 

r\r\ 

4 

r\r\  r^  ^\ 

r\r\ 

1                      1 

long  box.  The  drawing,  fig.  2.  represenis  one  side  of  the  house,  viewed  from 
the  inside.  No.  1,  2  and  3  are  long  boxes,  eighteen 
inches  wide  and  twelve  deep,  extending  the  whole 
length  of  the  house,  with  eight  holes,  four  inches 
square,  in  each  box,  upon  which  is  set  two  gallon 
caps,  with  two  half  inch  holes  in  each,  one  near  the 
top,  the  other  about  the  centre  of  the  cap,  in  which 
the  smoke  of  a  burning  rag  is  blown  to  drive  the 
bees  from  the  cap  into  the  long  box,  which  can  be 
known  b}-  striking  the  caps.  When  they  are  all  in 
Fig.  2.  the  long  box,  a  knife  or  wire  should  bediawn  under 

the  bottom  of  the  cap  to  separate  the  comb  frcm  the  box,  when  the  cap  of  honey 
maybe  removed,  and  an  empty  one  put  in  its  place.  No.  4  and  5  are  tubes 
three  inches  square,  to  convey  the  bees  from  one  box  to  another,  that  one  swarm 
of  bees  may  do  the  whole,  or  if  one  or  more  swarms  be  put  in  each  box,  that 
they  may  become  as  one,  as  they  will  not  permit  more  than  one  king  when  put 
together,  by  which  they  are  prevented  from  destroying  themselves  by  fighting. 
A  house  of  this  description,  when  the  long  boxes  are  filled,  will  afford,  at  a 
moderate  calculation,  ninety-six  gallons  of  honey  in  the  comb  annually. 

A  hive  combinino;  many  advantages  was  invented  a  few 
3-ears  since  by  ^Ir.  William  Groves,  of.  Cleaveland,  Ohio, 
which  we  understand  is  in  general  use  south  and  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge.  We  have  not  seen  it,  and  therefore  cannot  speak 
of  it  from  our  personal  knowledge,  but  we  understand  that  it 
is  so  constructed  that  from  it  bees  never  swarm,  and  are  enabled 
to  reject  and  roll  off  all  oflTensive  matters,  and  thus  they  can 
alw'ays  defend  themselves  successfully  against  all  intruding  in- 
sects. It  is  said  to  be  superior  to  any  other  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  bees.  The  honey  may  be  remo%'ed,  in  any  desirable 
quantit}',  at  pleasure,  w'ithout  disturbing  the  bees;  and  it  is 
always  clean  and  fresh.  The  colon}-  is  not  likely  to  contract 
disease,  as  the  hive  is  at  all  times  well  ventilated.  The  inventor 
has  given  it  a  pompous  name,*  froin  which  circumstance,  we 
should  hesitate  to  notice  it  were  we  not  assured  that  it  is  an 
excellent  article. 

p  The  following  description  of  an  improved 
hive  was  furnished  by  a  correspondent  of  the 
Farmer's  Cabinet,  residing  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania. After  some  preliminary  observa- 
tions, he  says,  "I  have  seen  none  that,  in  my 
opinion,  embraces  so  many  advantages  as  the 
one  here  presented.  A  is  a  stand,  the  legs  of 
which  are  IG  inches  high,  the  stand  itself  18 
inches  square.  B  represents  a  three  cornered 
box,  open  on  the  top;  with  a  slanting  bottom 
c  c;  a  space  is  to  be  Iei"i  open  in  the  front  of 
the  hive  the  whole  length  at  D,  to  admit  the 
bees  and  allow  the  dirt  to  slide  off  the  slant- 
ing bottom. 

I,  2,  and  3,  are  boxes  on  hives,  19  inches 
square  and  7  inches  high,  with  slats  nailed 
across,  a  sufficient  distance  from  each  other 
to  admit  the  free  passage  of  the  bees:  bars  are 
to  be  put  across  the  hive  to  support  the  ccmb. 
The  top  to  be  secu.'-ed  by  a  tight  cover.  The 
bees  enter  at  D,  and  pass  up  the  slanting  bot- 
tom of  the  stand  into  the  boxes  above,  and  the 


*  "Patent  Fortified  Transparent  Ro3-al  Bee  Palacelll' 


REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS.  405 

boxes  can  be  increased  by  adding  others,  always  placing  the  additional  boxes 
nearest  tlie  stand. 

This  hive  possesses  the  following  advantages  over  the  hives  in  common 
use: 

I.  It  'prevents  the  ravages  of  the  miller,  whose  worm  is  the  bee's  most  fatal 
enemy.  The  miller  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  bee  dirt;  which  in  the  common 
hive  is  constantly  accumulating  on  the  bottom.  This  difficulty  is  obviated  by 
the  slanting  bottom  of  the  stand;  the  dirt  falling  on  this  rolls  out  at  D,  and  the 
bottom  is  kept  clean. 

II.  The  cruel  practice  of  destroying  the  bees  is  entirely  superseded  by  the  use 
of  this  hive.  By  blowing  a  small  quantity  of  tobacco  smoke  into  the  upper  box, 
through  a  hole  made  for  that  purpose,  the  bees  will  descend  into  the  box  next 
below;  the  upper  box  can  be  removed;  fifty  or  sixty  pounds  of  honey,  entirely 
free  from  dead  bees  and  dirt,  can  thus  be  taken  froin  a  good  hive;  and  enough 
remain  to  winter  the  bees  without  any  risk  of  loss. 

III.  The  swarming  of  the  bees  can  be  regulated  by  the  rise  of  this  hive,  and 
the  new  swarms  taken  at  the  season  of  the  year  w'hen  they  are  most  valuable. 
The  bees  can  be  prevented  swarming  again'for  the  season,  by  additional  boxes 
as  the  young  bees  increase. 

IV.  This  hive  is  cheap  and  requires  but  little  mechanical  knowledge  in  its 
construction;  any  farmer  with  ordinary  tools  can  make  it  from  the  above  de- 
scription. 

The  feeding  of  bees  is  generally  deferred  until  winter  or 
spring.  This  is  very  wrong — a  more  erroneous  practice  can- 
not be  pursued.  Hives  should  be  examined  towards  the  close 
of  September,  and  the  utmost  attention  paid  to  securing  these 
little  animals  with  a  sufficiency  of  provender  during  the  win- 
ter. A  full  supply  should  always  be  left  thein,  for  without  an 
abundance  of  food  during  the  months  they  are  affected  by  cold, 
they  are  very  liable  to  perish.  All  hives  should  be  weighed, 
and  the  weight  marked  on  them  before  the  bees  are  hived  in 
them.  Thus,  by  weighing  a  stock  as  soon  as  frost  has  killed 
the  blossoms  in  the  fall,  the  apiarian  will  be  enabled  to  form  a 
just  estimate  of  their  necessities.  When  bees  are  fed  in  the 
fall  they  will  carry  up  and  deposite  their  food  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  will  be  convenient  for  them  in  the  winter. 

The  diseases  to  which  the  bee  is  subject  are  few  and  unim- 
portant, if  they  are  regularly  and  properly  attended  to.  They 
are  excessively  annoyed  at  times  by  insects,  the  principal  of 
which  is  the  bee-moth,  a  native  of  Europe,  which  has  strangely 
found  its  way  into  this  country  and  become  naturalized  among 
us.  It  is  a  vile  pest — a  deadly  enemy  to  the  bee,  and  if  not 
closely  watched  and  carefully  destroyed  by  the  hand  of  man, 
the  hive  will  perish.  No  certain  means  of  arresting  his  ravages 
have  as  yet  been  discovered.  When  first  appearing  they  re- 
semble a  white  worm  or  maggot,  with  a  reddish  crusted  head; 
size  various — the  largest  about  the  size  of  the  barrel  of  a  turkey 
quill;  sixteen  short  legs  tapering  each  way  from  the  centre  of 
their  bodies.  They  wind  themselves,  like  the  silk-worm,  into 
a  cocoon,  and  pass  the  dormant  or  chrysalis  state  of  their  ex- 
istence, and  in  a  few  days  come  out  of  their  silken  cases  perfect 
36* 


426  REARING  AND  FEEDING  OF  ANIMALS. 

winged  insects  or  millers,  and  are  soon  ready  to  deposits  their 
eggs,  from  which  another  crop  will  be  raised,*'  It  is  thus  seen 
that  the  miller  enters  the  hive,  deposits  her  eggs,  in  due  time 
they  hatch,  a  moth  is  produced,  and  the  race  of  destroyers  per- 
petuated.! 

The  method  now  generally  recommended,  as  having  been 
found  best  adapted  to  prevent  the  ravages  of  the  moth,  is  sim- 
ply to  raise  the  hive  by  placing  under  it  small  blocks  at  each 
corner,  by  which  means  the  bees  have  free  egress  and  ingress 
throughout  the  moth  season.  The  bees  should  be  carefully 
examined  every  day  throughout  the  season,  and  the  worms  or 
maggots  of  the  moth  destroyed,  which  can  be  done  in  the 
morning  without  disturbing  the  bees — unless  they  have  been 
neglected  too  long;  the  worms  will  be  found  almost  invariably 
collected  near  or  under  the  edges  of  the  hive.  Care  must  be 
taken  not  to  raise  it  so  high  as  to  admit  the  entrance  of  mice. 

Bees-wax,  a  solid  concrete,  obtained  from  the  hoEey-comls,  afier  the  sweet 
and  liquid  parts  are  exiratfted,  by  heating  and  pressing  them  between  iron 
plates.  The  best  sort  should  be  hard,  compact,  of  a  clear  yellow  colour,  and 
an  agreeable  odour,  similar  to  that  of  honey.  Pure  bees-wa.x,  when  new,  is 
tough,  yet  easily  broken:  by  long  keeping,  it  becomes  harder  and  more  brittle, 
loses  its  fine  colour,  and  partly  also  its  fragrance.  The  pnrpo>es  to  which 
bees-wax  is  applied,  are  various:  great  quantities  of  it  are  annuallv  bleached, 
and  converted  into  candles.  On  account  of  its  softening  and  healing  nature,  it 
is  much  used  in  cerates,  plasters  and  ointment5. 

Stings  of  bees  are  more  virulent  than  even  those  of  wa.'ips,  and  sometimes 
attended  with  very  violent  effects.  As  the  siing  is  barbed,  it  is  always  left  in 
the  wound.  When,  therefore,  a  person  is  stung  by  a  bee.  the  sting  should  be 
instantly  extracted;  for,  by  its  peculiar  form,  it  will  penetrate  progressively 
deeper  into  the  wound,  and  communicate  more  of  its  poison,  according  to  the 
time  it  is  suffered  to  remain.  It  should  be  carefully  pulled  out  with  a  steady 
hand;  for  if  any  part  of  it  breaks  in,  remedies  will  in  a  great  measure  be  inef- 
fectual. When  the  sting  is  completely  extracted,  the  wounded  part  should  be 
Slicked;  and  little,  if  any,  inflammation  will  ensue.  If  a  few  drops  of  spirit  of 
hartshorn  be  immediately  rubbed  on  the  part  affected,  the  cure  will  be  more 
speedily  accomplished.  This  spirit,  however,  acts  only  as  a  stimulating  anti- 
spasmodic, enabling  the  vessels  to  overcome  the  spasm  formed  on  the  extremi- 
ties. An  application  of  Goulard-water,  or  a  cold  saturnine  poultice,  would  pro- 
duce a  similar  effect. 

Another  simple  remedy,  equally  efficacious  and  expeditious,  is  a  solution  of 
indigo  in  water;  speedily  applied  to  the  injured  part. 

Honey  and  olive  oil  may  also  be  occasionally  substituted  with  advantage: 
but  their  application  should  be  repeated  till  the  pain  ceases. 

For  treating  the  stings  of  these  insects,  common  salt  is  almost  a  certain  and 
almost  instantaneous  cure;  if  the  sting  be  internal  the  .«a!t*mu«t  be  swallowed; 
in  the  contrary  ca«e.  the  skin  should  be  previousU'  moistened,  in  order  that  it 
may  more  easily  absorb  the  saline  matter. 

*  Weeks's  Manual. 

t  At  an  early  stage  of  their  existence,  while  yet  a  small  worm,  they  spin  a 
web,  and  construct  a  silken  shroud  or  fortress,  in  which  they  envelope  them- 
selves, and  form  a  sort  of  path  or  gallery,  as  they  pass  onward  in  their  devas- 
tating march — at  the  same  time  being  perfectly  secure  from  the  bees,  in  their 
silken  case,  which  they  widen  as  they  grow  larger,  with  an  opening  in  their 
front  only,  near  their  head,  they  commit  the  greatest  devastation  on  the  eggs 
and  young  bees,  and  all  that  coine  in  their  way. 


427 


SILK  AND  MULBERRIES. 


On  this  subject  we  have  little  to  say;  when  the  immense 
excitement  which  has  seized  upon  our  lellow  citizens  in  eveiy 
portion  of  the  union  shall  have  passed  away,  something  may 
be  said  definitely  upon  it.  It  does  not  strike  us  favourably  at 
the  present  writing — there  is  too  much  of  mania — too  much 
wild  speculation,  to  determine  the  merits  of  the  question  noiv. 
That  man}^  sections  of  our  country  are  adapted  to  the  growing 
of  silk,  is  an  undeniable  truth;  and  we  full}^  believe  that,  even- 
tually, when  the  matter  is  better  understood — when  it  has  be- 
come purified  of  the  taint  of  speculation,  that  it  will  come  up 
on  a  sure  and  firm  basis.  But  time  and  experience  are  neces- 
sary. We  do  not  speak  this  by  way  of  discouragement.  We 
desire  to  put  our  brother  farmers  on  their  guard  against  loss, 
and  not  desert  their  legitimate  calling  for  the  morus  or  any 
other  new  device,  with  which  men,  in  their  haste  to  get  rich, 
have  filled  the  public  mind  to  bewilderment.  If  they  must 
engage  in  such  speculations,  we  bid  them  be  cautious — to  mani- 
fest the  same  care  they  do  in  trying  agricultural  experiments. 
The  farmer  is  so  situated  that  he  can  test  a  thing  of  this  kind 
without  running  headlong  into  the  ditch.  We  advise  them  to 
go  on  the  small  and  safe  scale,  and  not  on  the  large. 

The  following  article  on  this,  at  present  interesting  topic, 
was  penned  by  one  of  our  most  discerning,  intelligent  and  pa- 
triotic farmers,  who  has  just  paid  the  debt  of  nature;  and  in 
whose  death  the  community  at  large,  and  the  agricultural  por- 
tion particularly,  have  sustained  a  severe  loss. 

We  have  promised  to  give  directions  for  the  culture  of  the  mulberry,  and 
the  management  of  the  silk-worm — and  we  shall  now  proceed  to  redeem  our 
promise.  In  the  meantime  we  will  recommend,  that  every  person  who  de- 
signs seriously  to  enter  into  the  business,  should  either  purchase  one  of  the 
half  dollar  publications  which  have  recentl3'Come  from  the  press,  or  subscribe 
for  one  of  the  dollar  periodicals,  ?,hich  are  specially  devoted  to  this  business. 
Either  of  these  will  afford  all  the  instructions,  in  a  compact  and  handy  form, 
necessarj'  fur  the  perfect  management  of  the  business.  We  shall  be  obliged  to 
be  somewhat  brief;  for  were  we  to  publish  all  that  is  written  upon  this  subject, 
it  would  engross  our  whole  paper. 

We  will  remark  in  the  outset,  that  we  do  not  doubt  but  the  silk  business 
will  succeed  in  our  country,  and  that  it  will  ultimately  become  a  matter  of 
great  national  concern.  Yet  we  believe  that  many  who  embark  in  it  will  fail 
to  realize  their  golden  dreams;  and  that  when  the  fever  has  passed  its  crisis, 
it  will  be  found  to  depend  for  success,  like  every  other  money  making  under- 
taking, upon  the  knowledge,  prudence  and  economy  with  which  it  is  n)anaged. 
We  are  an  enthusiastic,  and  often  an  inconsiderate  and  fickle  people.  When 
the  fever  of  public  feeling  is  excited  upon  any  gicat  subject,  be  it  turnpikes, 
banks,  canals,  rail-roads,  or  the  culture  of  silk,  we  are  apt,  for  want  of  pru- 
dence and  forethought,  to  permit  it  to  assume  a  dangerous  type,  that  balfles 
the  counsels  of  reason,  and  sometimes  terminates  in  e.Ktreme  lassitude  and 
prostration  of  strength.  Local  rivalship  and  private  interest,  the  spirit  of 
speculation,  and  the  aggrandizement  of  party,  are  so  profusely  employed  to 


428  SILK  AND  MULBERRIES. 

stimulate  the  patient,  and  to  deaden  him  to  a  sense  of  danger,  that  it  is  a  long 
time,  after  they  cease  to  operate,  before  he  is  restored  to  a  sane  state  of  mind, 
and  a  sound  healthy  condition  of  body.  And  though  he  does  apparently  re- 
cover from  the  shock,  we  have  serious  fears,  that  these  repeated  attacks  are 
imperceptibly  undermining  his  constitution.  We  have  seen  the  turnpike 
bubble  burst. — Few  of  these  roads  are  at  this  day  productive — many  have  been 
abandoned — much  money  has  been  expended  upon  them — and  still  the  public 
is  not  greatly  benefitted, — for  in  general  they  are  not  enough  better  than 
common  roads  to  make  up  for  the  tolls  they  exact.  Had  the  number  been 
limited  to  one-third,  or  one-fourth,  and  these  well  made,  the  interests  both  of 
the  stockholders  and  of  the  public  would  have  been  much  better  subserved  than 
they  now  are.  They  have  besides  led  to  the  culpable  neglect  of  our  public 
roads.  We  have  seen  that  several  of  our  banks  have  turned  out  to  be  mere 
bubbles: — and,  if  w^  mistake  not,  some  of  our  canals,  and  many  of  our  pro- 
jected rail-roads  will  in  the  end  prove  to  be  not  much  better— public  sacrifices 
at  the  shrine  of  private  gain.  We  profess  to  be  the  ardent  friends  to  public 
improvements  of  every  sort;  but  we  insist  that  prudence,  which  is  wisdom 
applied  to  practice,  is  as  commendable,  and  as  necessary,  and  as  much  a  vir- 
tue, in  the  management  of  the  public  concerns,  as  it  is  in  the  management  of 
one's  private  concerns.  What  individual  has  ever  been  renowned  for  his 
wisdom  or  for  his  justice,  who  lavished  upon  one  or  two  favourites,  the  patri- 
monv  which  belonged  equally  to  his  whole  family, — or  who,  to  bcncjlt  his  chil- 
dren, has  encumbered  his  farm  with  an  enormous  debt.  We  would  neither 
creep  nor  run,  if  we  meant  to  make  haste  in  a  long  journey. 

No  sooner  has  the  silk  business  become  a  theme  of  public  favour,  than  we 
see  capitalists,  or  speculators,  clubbing  their  means,  and  already  erecting  large 
silk  establishments,  as  they  have  an  undoubted  right  to  do,  but  in  too  many 
cases  we  fear,  from  a  hope"  of  getting  a  profit  on  the  stock,  rather  than  on  the 
business—on  their  cunning,  rather  than  on  their  labour.  They  should  remem- 
ber, that  the  first  requisite  in  cooking  fish,  is  to  catch  them.  Children  some- 
times recreate  themselves  with  a  play  called  '^Robin^s  alive" — and  this  seems 
now  to  have  become  a  fashionable  game  with  men— though  many  a  "burnt 
child,"  we  apprehend,  will  have  cause,  hereafter,  to  dread  the  fire. 

But  we  will  go  back  to  our  starting  point,  from  which  we  have  been  inad- 
%'ertently  drawn. 

The  silk  business  maybe  safely  undertaken  by  every  farmer  who  has  a 
family  of  females,  or  children,  icilling  to  pick  the  mulberry  leaves  and  take  care 
of  the  u-orms, — or,  if  he  begins  with  seedling  plants  in  the  nursery,  who  has 
this  aid  in  prospect, — and  he  may  enlarge  his  scale  of  operations,  as  his  pros- 
pects of  help  and  profit  increase.  His  outlay  will  be  comparatively  trifling. 
An  ounce  of  mulberry  seed,  or  a  few  hundred  plants,  and  some  eggs  when  his 
trees  afford  leaves,  will  constitute  the  principal  expense.  The  money  which 
he  obtains  for  his  cocoons,  or  his  silk,  will  be  so  much  added  to  his  nett  income. 
But  if  the  business  is  to  be  managed  by  hired  labour,  or  without  the  super- 
vision of  the  master  or  mistress,  we  cannot  guarantee  success,  at  least  not  to 
the  extent  that  many  sanguinely  anticipate;  and  we  should  by  all  means  advise 
such  as  thus  intend,  to  begin  with  moderation,  and  to  satisfy  themselves,  from 
experience,  that  they  can  manage  the  business  with  profit,  before  they  venture 
lo  embark  in  it  to  a  large  extent. 

We  ought  in  candour  to  state  two  other  facts,  one  of  which  we  have  not  seen 
published,  and  which  may  be  doubted  by  many  till  they  have  it  confirmed  by 
their  experience.  One  fact  is,  that  even  the  common  white  mulberry  is  often 
seriously  injured,  and  sometimes  killed,  by  the  severity  of  our  northern  win- 
ters. The  other  is,  that  the  Chinese  mulberry,  or  morus  multicaulis,  seldom 
escapes  injury  from  a  liKe  cause.  We  have  had  the  white  mulberry  in  our 
nursery  the  last  six  winters.  In  five  of  these  the  frost  has  killed  many  of  the 
branches  and  some  of  the  roots.  We  have  had  the  Chinese  three  winters,  and 
three  winters  the  plants  have  been  killed  to  the  ground,  and  some  of  them 
have  been  destroyed  root  and  branch.  Others,  we  know,  have  succeeded  better. 
Our  soil  is  light,  and  we  are  aware  that  tender  plants  suflTer  more  in  it,  from 
cold,  than  they  do  in  clay  or  loamy  soils. 


SILK  AND  MULBERRIES.  429 

Having  made  these  preliminary  remarks,  from  a  wish  to  present  the  reader 
with  a  view  ol'the  wiioie  ground,  we  proceed  in  our  task  to  speak  of  the 

Mulbernj,  to  plant  and  nurture  which  is  the  lirst  step  in  the  business.  There 
are  several  species  and  varieties  of  this  tree,  the  leaves  of  which  the  worm 
converts  into  silk.  Our  correspondents  advise  us,  tiiat  there  are  three  kinds 
of  indigenous  growth  in  Ulster,  and  two  in  Montgomery,  near  the  Mohawk 
river.  The  red  fruited,  {ruhra,)  is  found  wild  in  many  parts  of  the  country, 
and  the  leaves  have  been  employed  in  feeding  the  worm.  This  species  is 
common  in  most  of  the  states,  and  a  correspondent  in  Maryland  writes  us, 
tliat  both  the  red  and  white  grow  abundantly  there.  The  seeds  of  both  kinds 
are  scattered  by  birds,  ajid  we  do  not  doubt  but  in  a  few  years  the  white  will 
be  found  springing  up  in  our  woods,  as  though  it  were  indigenous.  Mr.  Rixd 
has  also  introduced  seeds  of  the  Asiatic  mulberry,  from  Constantinople;  and 
D.  Rl'golks,  Esq.,  of  Newburgh,  has  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand  plants,  from 
this  seed,  growing  in  his  nursery.  The  leaves  are  intermediate  in  size  between 
those  of  the  white  and  Chinese  speciess;  and  there  is  another,  we  believe  from 
Italy,  similar  to  the  Asiatic,  and  possibly  tlie  same,  which  has  been  growing 
some  winters  in  our  nursery,  uninjured  by  frost.  But  for  the  present,  reliance 
can  only  be  had  on  the  white  and  Chinese,  not  only  because  they  are  reputed 
to  be  best,  but  because  the  others  cannot  be  immediately  procured  in  sutiicient 
quantities.  Of  the  first  only  can  seeds  be  procured,  and  this  is  the  season  to 
provide  them.  Plants  of  both  kinds  may  be  had  at  most  of  the  public,  and  at 
many  private  nurseries.  W.  Thorbur.v,  in  Albany,  sells  the  seed  at  fifty  cents 
the  ounce,  and  the  eggs  at  ei>j;hteen  to  twenty-five  cents  the  thousand.  An 
ounce  of  seed  will  give  from  two  to  three  thousand  plants. 

The  statements  in  regard  to  profits  are  extremely  variant,  which  depends 
undoubtedly  upon  good  or  bad  management.  The  estimates  of  sixteen  indi- 
viduals, in  Roberts'  Manual,  vary  from  i$72  to  8-2.GtJl,  as  the  products  of  an 
acre,  in  money,  averaging  about  .SI,000  per  acre.  The  editor  adopts  §5(55  50_ 
a>.  the  nett  profit  of  an  acre  of  full  grown  trees.  Dr.  Comstock,  the  author  of 
"A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Culture  of  Silk,"  puts  its  down,  as  a  safe  calcu- 
lation, that  from  .S125  to  $150  nett  profit,  may  be  expected  from  an  acre  of  full 
grown  trees.     The  lowest  estimate  is  always  the  safest  one  for  beginners. 

We  must  refer  to  page  51  of  vol.  ii.  of  the  Cultivatpr  for  directions  for  sow- 
ing the  seed,  and  managing  the  plants  in  the  seed  bed,  with  this  further  direc- 
tion, that  in  northern  latitudes,  it  is  a  good  precaution  to  cover  the  plants 
while  in  the  seed  bed,  in  winter,  with  coarse  litter  from  the  cattle  yard  or 
elsewhere. 

The  mulberry  may  be  also  propagated  by  layers,  suckers  and  cuttings,  and 
by  the  ordinary  processes  of  grafting  and  budding.  These  modes  of  increase 
are  seldom  applied  to  any  but  the  Chinese  kind.  Sprouts  often  spring  from 
about  the  surface  of  the  ground;  and  if  these  are  earthed  up  they  will  throw 
ofi' roots,  and  after  a  season  maybe  separated  from  the  parent  stock  and  trans- 
planted.    Or  these  may  be  bent  down  to  the  earth,  and  converted  into  layers. 

The  Soil  best  adapted  to  the  mulberry  is  a  light  loam,  though  they  will 
grow  in  almost  any  soil  not  habitually  wet.  Stony  ground,  unfit  for  tillage, 
is  as  good  as  any  for  them. 

The  best  aspect  for  a  mulberry  plantation  is  one  sloping  to  the  south  or  south- 
east and  south-west;  and  it  is  advantageous  to  have  it  sheltered  on  the  north 
and  west  by  woods  or  high  grounds. 

MiDiner  of  planting: — If  the  business  is  to  be  managed  on  a  small  scale,  and 
only  a  few  trees  planted,  these  may  be  put  out  along  fences,  at  the  distance  of 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet  apart,  and  trimmed  up  as  they  grow,  so  as  not  to  incom- 
mode teams  in  the  ordinary  field  labour.  The  holes  for  the  plants  should  be 
three  feet  in  diameter,  and  eighteen  inches  deep,  and  filled  up  to  a  sutficient 
height  to  receive  the  plant,  with  surface  mould.  In  this  the  tree  should  be 
planted  no  deeper  than  it  stood  in  the  nursery,  as  when  the  ground  has  become 
compact,  it  will  have  settled  an  inch  or  more.  The  plants  for  this  purpose 
should  be  from  one  to  two  inches  in  diameter  at  the  butt.  Those  who  contem- 
plate going  into  the  business  largely,  have  a  chance  of  three  modes  of  planting:, 
viz:  as  standards,  in  fields  to  be  u^ed  fi)r  farm  crops;  as  half  standards,  in 
grounds  to  be  wholly  appropriated  to  their  growth;  and  as  dwarfs,  planted  as 


430  SILK  AXD  MULBERRIES. 

hedges  to  divide  fields,  or  otherwise.  In  the  first  instance,  the  directions  giren 
for  planting  and  pruning  fence  trees  will  applj'  here,  and  their  distance  may 
be  fifteen  feet,  or  more,  to  suit  the  taste  or  convenience  of  the  proprietor.  If 
half  standards  are  to  be  cultivated,  and  the  ground  ultimately  to  be  appro- 
priated to  their  growth,  the  ground  should  be  ploughed  deep,  and  if  trench 
ploughed  the  belter,  and  well  pulverized,  and  the  trees  planted  four  to  eight 
ieet  apart  in  double  rows,  that  is,  two  parallel  rows  four  feet  apart,  leaviiig 
intervals  for  the  passage  of  a  cart  between  each  double  row.  Plant  in  quin- 
cunx, putting  the  plant  in  one  row  opposite  the  interval  between  two  trees  in 
the  other,  thus  •  .  •  .  Half  standards  need  not  be  pruned,  except  of  such 
limbs  as  fall  to  the  ground.  Branches  will  spring  from  near  the  surface,  and 
tJiC  intervals  Avill  be  filled,  in  a  few  }'ears,  with  thritty  foliage.  For  two  or 
tliiee  years  the  intervals  maybe  ploughed  carefully,  and  cropped  with  pota- 
toe.s,  beans,  &c.,  the  tillage  of  which  will  facilitate  the  growth  of  the  mulber- 
ries. Plants  for  half  standards  ma}-  be  taken  from  the  nursery  at  two  years, 
and  if  ver}'  thrifty,  at  one  year  old.  In  all  cases  it  is  advisaWe  to  transplant 
tiie  mulberry,  at  the  north,  in  the  spring,  and  the  earlier  the  belter.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  mode  of  planting  is,  to  raise  the  greatest  quantity  of  leaves  from  a 
given  area  of  ground,  and  to  facilitate  the  gathering  of  them.  When  required 
for  a  hedge,  the  plants  may  be  one  or  two  years  old.  A  neat  way  of  training 
this  hedge  is  to  cut  down  the  plants  the  first  year,  to  within  four  or  .six  inches 
of  the  ground,  leaving  two  buds,  and  after  another  year's  growth,  to  bend 
down  or  lay  one  of  ihe  new  sprouts  in  the  line  of  the  fence,  and  tie  it  to  the 
next  plant,  and  to  leave  the  other  sprout  to  grow  upright.  The  buds  from  the 
laid  sprout  will  send  up  shoots  and  fill  the  intervals.  The  plants  may  be  set 
fifteen  inches  apart.  Sprouts  .springing  from  the  roots  should  in  all  cases  be 
cut  away,  unless  ihey  are  wanted  for  layers.  It  is  recommended  that  small 
trees,  intended  for  spring  planting,  should  be  taken  up  the  preceding  fall,  and 
buried  in  great  part  or  wholl}',  to  protect  them  from  injury  during  the  winter. 
The  Cocoonery  is  the  place  where  the  worms  are  to  be  fed,  which  should  be 
sulficiently  tii^ht  to  protect  ihem  from  stormy  or  severe  weather,  and  so  fitted 
that  it  may  be  thoroughly  ventilated  when  the  weather  is  mild  and  fair.  A 
spare  room  of  the  house,  or  an  out  building,  will  serve  for  beginners  on  a 
small  scale.  This  must  be  furnished  with  a  table,  or  shelves,  to  deposite  the 
worms  upon.  The  best  wa\'  seems  to  be  to  frame  four  posts  together,  say 
four  by  three  feet  square,  into  which  are  fitted  three  or  four  frames  for  the 
worms  to  feed  upon,  the  centre  of  which  to  be  filled  with  meshes  of  catgut  or 
twine,  and  others  directly  under  them,  covered  with  paper.  The  object  of 
which  is,  to  have  all  the  filth  and  excrements  pass  through  the  meshes  on  to 
the  paper  slide,  which  may  be  withdrawn  and  cleaned  without  disturbing  the 
worms.  The  paper  frame  should  be  so  near  the  other,  that  if  the  worms  fall 
through  the  meshes,  they  may  be  able  to  reach  it  and  get  up  again,  which  they 
will  do  fur  the  leaves,  which  are  always  laid  upon  the  mesh  J'rames. 


431 


XVIIL— IMPLEiMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 

In  this  branch  of  our  subject  we  shall  examine  very  briefly 
the  mechanical  agents  or  implements,  machines,  &c.,  employed 
in  agricultural  operations.  Though  the  most  important  imple^ 
ments  of  agriculture  are  drawn  or  put  in  action  by  beasts  of 
labour,  yet  a  few  which  cannot  be  dispensed  with,  are  used  by 
man  alone.  These  of  course  will  be  noticed  in  their  proper 
place. 

It  is  rarely,  indeed,  necessary  that  the  farmer  shall  himself 
be  able  to  construct  machines;  because  in  all  places  where  the 
arts  are  cultivated,  there  will  be  found  a  class  of  artisans,  who 
can  supply  to  him  the  comm.on  instruments  of  which  he  stands 
in  need,  and  at  a  price  much  less  than  he  can  construct  them. 
But  it  is  nevertheless  proper  that  he  be  acquainted  with  the 
principles  upon  whicli  his  machines  should  be  constructed,  and 
so  be  able  to  supply,  if  necessary,  the  want  of  skill  in  the 
workman. 

THE  PLOUGH. 

The  plough  being  the  fundamental  implement  of  agricul- 
ture, is  common  to  all  ages  and  countries,  and,  in  its  primitive 
form,  is  almost  every  where  the  same.  Those  used  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  spread  over  Europe,  and  underwent, 
probably,  but  little  or  no  change  until  the  sixteenth  century, 
when  they  gave  way  to  the  improved  Dutch  and  Flemish 
ploughs. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  plough  underwent  further 
and  highly  important  improvements,  particularly  in  England; 
and  in  the  eighteenth  it  was  still  further  greatly  improved 
in  Scotland — and  the  improved  Scotch  plough,  as  it  was  then 
called,  is  still  in  high  repute  in  many  of  the  best  agricultural 
districts. 

Our  early  agricultural  implements,  and  the  models  of  some 
now  in  use  among  us,  were  derived  originally  from  the  mother 
-  country — Britain.  There  are  now  a  great  many  different  sorts; 
and,  besides  the  variety  of  construction  occasioned  by  the  dif- 
ference of  soils,  and  the  various  purposes  for  which  they  are 
employed  even  on  the  same  soil,  there  is  a  considerable  di- 
versity in  the  form,  in  districts  where  both  the  soil  and  mode 
of  culture  are  nearly  similar. 


432  IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 

The  parts  of  a  plough  are  the  beam,  or  that  part  which  car- 
ries the  coulter  and  furnishes  the  point  of  draught;  the  head  is 
the  plane  on  which  it  moves;  the  soc;  the  mould  hoard;  the 
coulter,  a  sort  of  knife  inserted  in  the  beam,  and  so  placed  be- 
fore the  soc  as  to  cut  the  sod;  and  the  handles. 

Much  improvement  has  been  made  in  this  country  in  the 
construction  of  ploughs,  within  the  last  few  years.  The  ob- 
jects desirable  to  be  obtained  are  superiority  of  work,  saving 
to  the  farmer  in  time,  in  repairs,  in  power  of  draught,  and  in 
the  rapidity  of  performing  work.  A  plough  should  be  strong, 
durable,  cheap,  and  work  easy.  Wrought  and  cast  iron 
ploughs  have  come  into  use,  and  are  recommended  by  many  as 
preferable  to  those  made  of  common  materials.  Among  the 
number  of  cast  iron  ploughs  is  that  known  as  Prouty  and 
Mears's  Patent,  which  is  held  in  very  high  estimation  by 
those  who  have  tested  its  merits. 

Some  twenty  or  thirty  years  since  a  cast  iron  plough  was 
invented  by  a  Mr.  Jethro  Wood,  which  for  a  time  was  very 
popular  among  many  of  the  New  England  farmers;  and,  we 
believe,  that  at  this  day  it  is  still  used  and  held  in  high  estima- 
tion by  some,  especially  those  who  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
their  fathers.  Mr.  Wood's  plough  was  unquestionably  the 
best  then  in  use — but  it  had  its  imperfections;  these,  however, 
have  been  corrected,  and  the  plough  now  in  extensive  use, 
manufactured  by  Ruggles,  Nourse  and  Mason,  is  simply 
Wood's  plough  improved. 

By  the  trench  plough,  two  or  more  slices  are  taken  with 
the  same  instrument.  The  first  cuts  off  the  weeds  and  stubble, 
and  deposits  them  at  the  bottom  of  the  furrow;  the  second  slice 
is  then  turned  over  the  former,  and  completely  covers  it. 

Side-hill  ov  swivel-ploughs  are  coming  into  extensive  use, 
having  been  recently  very  much  improved;  they  are  peculiarly 
adapted  for  hilly  grounds,  but  may  be  so  constructed  as  to  an- 
swer every  purpose  of  the  common  plough.  They  enable  the 
farmer  to  plough  without  making  dead  or  land  furrows,  and 
also  admit  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  land  very  near  to  fences, 
&c. 

Double  furroio  ploiighs  are  recommended  from  high  au- 
thority, as  saving  the  attendance  of  one  person,  and  doing 
nearly  double  the  work  in  the  same  space  of  time,  with  little 
additional  strength  in  the  team. 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


433 


Prouty  and  Mears's  Centre  Draught  Plough. 

Through  all  the  various  improvements  and  alterations  which  have  been 
made  in  the  construction  of  the  plough,  the  uniform  practice  has  been  to  raise 
or  set  the  landside  on  a  right  angle  to,  or  perpendicular  with,  the  plane  of  the 
base,  over  which  the  beam  has  been  placed  on  an  acute  angle  with  the  line  of 
the  landside,  carrying  the  forward  end  towards  the  furrow  about  three  inches 
from  a  continued  line  of  the  landside,  to  incline  the  plough  to  land,  or  retain 
its  proper  width  of  furrow.  The  etfect  has  been  an  irregular,  unsteady,  strug-- 
gling  motion,  which  effect  is  increased  as  the  plough  is  shortened,  and  the  fur- 
row-slice, being  cut  and  raised  with  a  square  edge,  is  very  liable,  as  it  falls 
over,  to  rest  upon  the  furrow  last  turned  and  not  shut  in  level.  Ploughs  made 
of  cast  iron  are  necessarily  shorter  than  when  made  of  wood  or  sheet  iron,  to 
prevent  their  being  too  heavy  and  cumbersome,  and  late  improvements  in 
agriculture  and  the  practical  use  and  good  effects  of  tilling  the  ground  with 
short  cast  iron  ploughs,  having  brought  them  into  general  use,  the  necessity  of 
adopting  some  principle,  if  possible,  to  the  plough  to  run  more  unilormly  level 
and  .steady,  and  at  the  same  time  to  form  the  furrow-slice  into  such  shape  as 
to  ensure  its  closing  and  shutting  in  level,  has  been  seriously  felt. 

The  principle  adopted  in  the  construction  of  this  plough,  is  to  set  the  land- 
side  on  an  acute  angle  with  the  plane  of  the  base,  so  that  the  beam  is  laid  on  a 
line  parallel  to,  and  continuous  with,  the  line  of  the  landside,  and  so  far  over 
the  furrow  as  to  give  the  plough  a  sufficient  inclination  to  land,  thus  causing 
a  straight  forward  and  uniform  motion,  and  the  furrow-slice  being  cut  in  the 
form  of  an  oblique-angled  parallelogram — or  a  board  icith  feather  edges — falls 
in  and  shuts  more  readily  and  uniformly  with  the  furrow  last  turned,  leaving 
the  land  when  ploughed  in  the  best  form  for  the  after-tillage,  and  by  covering 
all  stubble  and  green  crop  completely  under,  and  leaving  the  surface  level, 
light  and  friable,  fits  it  for  the  production  of  good  crops,  requiring  less  strength 
of  team  to  draw  the  plough,  and  less  effort  of  the  ploughman  to  govern  it. 

The. head  or  top  of  the  landside  being  broad,  and  transversely  parallel  with 
the  head  of  the  base,  and  extended  back  from  the  bolt  which  fastens  the  beam, 
so  as  to  make  a  bearing  for  the  beam  to  rest  upon,  serves  as  a  guide  for  the 
workmen  to  lay  the  beam  by,  and  as  a  brace  to  prevent  the  downward  pressure 
of  the  after  end  of  the  beam  upon  the  landside  of  the  plough.  The  point  being 
under  a  rock  or  stump,  and  being  notched  into  the  beam,  protects  the  standard 
bolt  which  fastens  the  beam  to  the  plough.  The  mould-board  and  share  is 
formed  in  that  gradually  winding  shape  which  is  found  by  experience  to  be 
best  adapted  to  the  purpose,  turning  and  laying  the  furrow  in  the  best  possible 
form  for  the  after-tillage,  the  production  of  good  crops,  and  with  the  least  pos- 
sible resistance. 

THE  HARROW. 

The  Harrotu  is  an  implement  of  equal  antiquity  with  the 
plough,  and  has  of  late  years  undergone  so  much  improvement 
as  to  have  originated  that  class  of  pronged  implements,  known 
37 


434 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


as  cultivators,  grubbers,  &c.  Harrows  are  implements  of  essen- 
tial importance  in  the  management  of  farm  lands,  not  only  for 
the  purpose  of  covering  the  seed  with  the  earth,  but  likewise 
for  more  effectually  pulverizing  the  soil  after  it  is  broken  up 
by  the  plough,  previously  to  its  reception  of  the  seed. 

As  the  operation  of  harrowing  is  performed  on  all  the  varie- 
ties of  soils,  brought  into  a  state  of  cultivation,  it  therefore  re- 
quires instruments  of  dififerent  size  and  strength,  and  as  the 
objects  for  which  they  are  employed,  though  nearly  similar, 
yet  vary  in  detail,  it  is  manifest  that  they  should  differ  in  form. 
But  they  have  nevertheless,  until  within  the  last  few  years, 
been  both  made  and  worked  without  any  material  alteration, 
upon  the  same  principle  on  which  they  have  been  used  for 
ages. 

THE  BERWICKSHIRE  HARROW. 

The  Berwickshire  Harrow  is 
said  to  be  the  most  perfect  im- 
plement of  the  kind  now  in 
use  in  England.  It  consists 
of  two  parts  joined  together  by 
iron  rods,  having  hasps  and 
hooks.  Each  part  consists  of 
four  bars  of  wood,  termed  bulls, 
and  connected  together  by  an 
equal  number  of  cross-bars  of 
smaller  dimensions,  morticed 
through  them. 

The  former  of  these  bars  may  be  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
width,  by  three  inches  in  depth,  and  the  latter  two  inches  in 
width  by  one  inch  in  depth.  The  longer  bars  are  inclined  at 
a  certain  angle  to  the  smaller,  (see  engraving,)  and  they  have 
inserted  into  them  teeth  at  equal  distances  "from  each  other. 
By  this  means,  when  the  implement  moves  forward,  the  various 
teeth  equally  indent  the  surface  of  the  ground  over  which  they 
pass. 

The  harrow  represented  in  the  preceding  figure,  of  which 
the  frame  is  of  wood,  and  the  teeth  of  iron,  are  connected  to- 
gether in  pairs  by  hinges.  The  number  of  teeth  in  each  is 
twenty,  five  being  inserted  in  each. of  the  larger  bars. 

Sometimes  a  light  kind  of  harrow,  with  a  greater  number  of 
teeth,  is  used  for  covering  the  smaller  seeds,  as  those  of  clovers 
and  the  grasses.  These  light  harrows  do  this  species  of  work 
better  than  the  common  kinds,  and  hence  many  farmers  have 
one  or  more  pairs  of  them,  for  the  specific  purpose  of  covering 
the  smaller  seeds. 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


435 


The  Brush  Harrow  is  used  for  har- 
rowing grass  lands,  to  disperse  rough- 
ness and  decaying  matter:  and  it  is 
also  sometimes  used  for  covering  grass 
or  clover  seeds.  Small  rigid  branches 
are  interwoven  in  a  frame,  consisting 
of  three  or  more  cross-bars,  fixed  into 
two  end  pieces  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
be  very  rough  and  bushy  underneath. 
To  the  extremities  of  the  frame  before 
are  sometimes  attached  two  wheels, 
about  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  upon 
which  it  moves — sometimes,  however, 
the  wheels  are  omitted,  and  the  whole 
rough  surface  is  applied  to,  and  drag- 
ged on,  the  ground. 

Conklbi's  Revolving  Press  Har- 
row, a  new  invention,  somewhat  re- 
sembling the  English  spiked  harrow. 
It  consists  of  two  cylinders  twenty 
inches  in  diameter,  three  feet  long, 
formed  of  cast  iron  staves,  &c.  The 
teeth,  which  are  either  of  wrought  or 
cast  iron,  are  inserted  in  the  staves, 
and  fastened  upon  the  inside  by  nuts 
or  keys.  The  design  is — 1.  To  scarify 
meadow  or  pasture  grounds,  root  out 
mosses,  fit  them  for  seed,  and  thus  in- 
crease the  product.  2.  To  scarify  stiff 
clays  and  tough  sward  grounds,  after  they  have  been  once 
ploughed,  which  this  harrow  pulverizes  and  fits  for  the  crop. 

The  Grubber  is  an  implement  scarcely  known,  and  conse- 
quently but  little  used  in  this  country;  while  in  England  and 
Scotland  it  is  in  almost  universal  use.  Its  office  is  to  turn  up 
noxious  weeds  whose  roots  may  have  been  turned  down  by 
ploughing,  below  the  reach  of  the  harrow,  which  cannot  pene- 
trate any  distance  into  the  ground,  and  drag  up  the  roots  of 
plants  beneath  the  surface. 

The  introduction  of  this  class  of  implements  into  tillage, 
must  be  regarded  as  beneficial  and  important.  When  land  is 
full  of  root  weeds,  the  repeated  operation  of  the  plough,  the 
harrow  and  the  roller,  is  resorted  to  for  tilling  and  cleaning  it. 
In  these  cases  the  grubber  is  a  useful  assistant,  and  may  fre- 
quently supersede  the  necessity  of  one  or  more  ploughings. 

The  grubber  can  be  made  to  go  any  depth  which  may  be  re- 
quired, and  thus  the  soil  can  be  cither  stirred  to  the  depth  at 


The  Brush  Harrow. 


436  IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 

which  it  had  been  originally  ploughed,  or  to  such  lesser  depth 
as  may  be  deemed  expedient.  It  is  in  this  respect  greatly 
superior  to  the  harrow,  which  we  cannot  regulate  in  this 
manner. 

The  employment  of  the  grubber,  however,  does  not  super- 
sede that  of  the  harrow  in  the  pulverization  of  the  ground,  and 
disengaging  of  the  roots  of  weeds.  The  harrow  is  still  to  be 
used,  in  conjunction  with  the  grubber,  and  especially  for  col- 
lecting into  heaps  the  roots  of  the  plants  brought  to  the  sur- 
face. 

COULTER  FOR  LOOSENING  THE  SUB-SOIL. 

This  is  a  valuable  imple- 
ment on  tenacious  clays  or 
stiff  soils.  It  loosens  up 
the  earth  for  several  inches 
deeper  than  our  common 
ploughs  go,  without  bring- 
ing the  earth  or  sub-soil 
from  below  on  to,  or  mix- 
ing it  with  the  surface  soil.  One  horse  attached  to  it,  and  walk- 
ing in  the  furrow  after  the  coiTimon  ploughman,  will  effect 
all  that  is  required. 

This  process  of  stirring  the  earth  to  a  greater  depth  than  is 
usual  in  common  ploughing,  will,  in  time  of  much  wet,  suffer 
the  superabundant  moisture  to  sink  away,  and  not  injure  the 
plants  by  diluting  their  food  too  much;  while  in  time  of 
drought  the  fibres  of  roots  are  enabled  to  penetrate  to  a  much 
greater  depth  in  search  of  their  appropriate  nutriment. 

James  M.  Garnett,  Esq.,  an  ardent  friend  of  agriculture, 
introduced  this  improved  implement  into  Virginia.  He  met 
with  it  accidentally  on  board  a  steam-boat,  but  could  obtain  no 
authentic  account  of  its  origin,  when,  where,  or  by  whom  in- 
vented. He  was  so  much  pleased  with  it  that  he  made  a  sketch 
of  it,  and  on  his  return  home  he  had  one  made,  of  which  he 
gives  the  following  account. 

'•I  have  been  using  it  ever  since  with  a  decided  preference 
to  all  others.  None,  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge,  are  supe- 
rior to  it,  in  any  one  respect,  while  this  is  superior  to  them  all 
in  two  important  particulars.  1.  You  may  wear  out  both 
points,  by  reversing  them,  before  you  send  it  to  the  smith. 
2.  The  point  which  works  behind  causes  the  coulter  to  run 
much  more  steadil}'. 

"The  lower  part  is  made  out  of  inch  square  iron,  flattened, 
and  well  steeled  at  the  points,  and  is  twenty-two  inches  long. 
The  upright  part  is  of  bar-iron,  two  and  a  half  or  three  inches 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


437 


wide,  by  half  an  inch  or  five-eighths  thick,  and  should  be  seven- 
teen to  eighteen  inches  high  from  top  to  bottom,  and  left  square 
on  both  the  front  and  hinder  edge. 

''A  half  inch  bolt  will  suffice  to  fasten  it  in  the  mortice 
through  the  beam,  which  should  be  at  least  four  by  three  inches 
at  that  part.  A  band  of  round,  half  inch  iron,  should  also  be 
fixed  on  that  part  of  the  beam,  so  as  to  rest  against  the  front 
edge  of  the  coulter  above,  and  its  back  edge  below,  which  will 
keep  it  firmly  fixed  in  the  mortice." 

THE  ROLLER. 


The  Roller  is  constructed  of  wood,  stone  or  cast  iron,  accord- 
ing to  the  convenience  or  purposes  for  which  it  is  to  be  used. 
For  tillage  lands,  the  roller  is  used  to  break  the  lumps  of  earth, 
and  to  press  in  and  render  firm  the  ground  about  newly  sown 
seed.  So  important  is  the  roller  become,  within  a  few  years, 
that  no  farmer  can  consider  his  stock  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments complete  without  it. 

They  are  principally  constructed  on  two  plans;  the  one  con- 
sists of  a  single  cylindrical  piece  of  timber,  set  in  a  frame,  in 
which  it  revolves  by  gudgeons;  the  other,  of  two  such  timbers, 
each  of  which  is  half  the  length  of  the  single  one.  .  The  latter 
is  preferable  in  the  turning  of  the  angles  of  fields  and  lands. 
Some  prefer  the  stone  roller.  There  are  also  a  variety,  some 
of  which  are  patented. 
37* 


438  IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 

MACHI^'ES  FOR  SOWING  SEEDS,  <S:c. 


BrcKMixsTERS  Seed  Planter. 

This  implement  is  of  recent  and  simple  construction,  has 
been  fully  proved,  and  found  to  answer  for  the  planting  of 
corn,  sugar-beet,  ruta-baga,  mangel-vvurtzel,  turnip,  and  other 
like  grains.  It  deposits  the  seed  either  in  hills  or  drills,  as  the 
operator  may  desire.  The  great  superiority  of  this  over  other 
corn  planters  is,  that  on  ground  previously  prepared  in  a  pro- 
per manner,  a  man  with  one  horse  will  furrow  out,  drop, 
cover,  and  press  down  the  seed  on  an  acre  of  ground  in  one 
hour — or  ten  acres  per  da}'. 

The  seed  is  covered  by  falling  into  the  furrow  of  the  soil, 
which  is  finely  pulverized  by  a  row  of  cultivator  teeth.  The 
seed  is  deposited  in  the  fresh  earth,  and  immediately  rolled, 
without  being  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere.  The  ma- 
chine will  bury  the  seed  three  inches  deep  if  desired — one  inch 
is  the  rule  for  corn — one-fourth  of  an  inch  for  turnips.  By 
simply  turning  a  screw  you  sink  the  grain  or  seed  deep;  by 
turning  it  back  you  plant  more  shallow.  It  is  made  of  cast 
iron,  except  the  handles. 

The  Dri/l  Barrow, which 
is  made  in  different  forms, 
and  is  used  in  sowing  va- 
rious  small  seeds,  such  as 
turnips,  onions,  radishes, 
peas,  beans,  lucern,  &.c. 
The  Drill  Barrow.  jg  propelled  like  a  wheel- 

barrow, and  sows  and  covers  the  seed  at  the  same  operation. 
The  one  figured  above,  is  used  to  some  extent  in  New  York, 
and  in  many  other  places.     It  is  highly  commended. 

BemenVs  Improved  Turnip  Drill  is  an  implement  of 
much  value.  It  was  originally  simply  a  modification  of  the 
old  English  Northumberland  turnip  drill.  But  it  has  under- 
gone such  modifications  and  improvements,  that  it  is  now  adapt- 
ed to  the  planting  of  beets,  peas,   onions,  carrots,  and  other 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


439 


seeds  of  a  round  or  oval  shajje.  The  wheel  by  which  it  is  im- 
pelled, serves  the  double  purpose  of  covering  and  pressing  the 
earth  to  the  seed;  thereby,  as  in  the  case  of  the  corn  planter, 
causing  a  much  more  rapid  vegetation. 

Merchanfs  Drill  Barrow  is  an  implement  of  peculiar  sim- 
plicity and  cheapness,  and  will  be  found  to  be  very  economical 
and  useful  in  the  sowing  of  turnips,  onions,  radishes,  beans, 
beets,  and  similar  seeds  by  manual  power;  and  by  multiplying 
the  wheels,  or  rather  by  uniting  several  machines  for  horse 
power,  it  may  be  used  in  field  culture  for  sugar-beet,  ruta-baga, 
wheat,  &.C. 


Willis'  Seed  Sower. 

TVillis^  latest  Improved  Seed  Sower,  invented  the  last  sea- 
son; one  of  the  most  perfect  machines  ever  introduced  for  the 
purpose.  In  using  this  machine,  the  farmer  may  be  certain 
that  his  seed  is  put  into  the  ground,  and  at  the  same  time  in 
the  best  possible  manner.  There  has  been  a  great  difficulty  in 
machines  for  sowing  garden  seeds;  they  are  very  apt  to  clog 
up,  and  the  farmer  might  go  over  an  acre  of  land  and  not  sow 
a  single  seed;  but  not  so  with  this;  it  is  so  constructed  that  it 
cannot  possibly  clog.  In  using  this  power,  the  farmer  can  save 
one  half  of  his  seed,  and  do  the  work  at  less  than  one  quarter 
the  expense  of  the  common  way  of  sowing  his  seeds,  and  have 
it  done  in  a  much  better  manner;  it  opens  the  furrow,  drops 
the  seed,  covers  it  over  and  rolls  them  down.  It  will  sow  al- 
most any  kind  of  garden  seeds;  say  ruta-baga,  mangel-wurtzel, 
turnips,  carrots,  beets,  parsneps,  onions,  &c.  It  is  highly  re- 
commended by  a  great  number  of  persons  who  have  used  it. 

The  Clover  Box  is  exceedingly  simple  in  its  construction, 
easily  made,  and  at  small  expense.  In  some  sections  it  is  in 
general  use:  the  seed  is  not  only  placed  in  the  ground  with 
entire  certainty  and  equality,  but  a  much  less  quantity  is  suffi- 
cient than  is  usually  required  by  the  old  process.     By  the  use 


440 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


of  this  box,  one  bushel  has  seeded  fifteen 
acres,  the  clover  well  set,  the  plants  in 
sufficient  numbers,  and  the  whole  field 
evenly  seeded. 

The  box  is  eight  or  ten  feet  in  length, 
about  four  inches  in  breadth,  divided 
into  partitions  of  six  inches  long.  In 
the  bottom  of  each  partition  is  an  open- 
ing of  about  three  inches  square,  in 
which  is  inserted  a  piece  of  tin,  parch- 
ment, or  stiff  paper,  perforated  with  a 
number  of  holes  of  sufficient  size  for  the 
clover  seed  to  pass  freely  through. 

The  seed  is  placed  in  each  partition. 
To  the  box  is  affixed  a  strap,  which  is 
passed  over  the  shoulders  of  the  sower, 
and  carrying  the  box  before  him,  he 
walks  over  the  field,  agitating  the  box 
by  his  hand  if  it  requires  more  move- 
ment than  it  receives  from  his  walk.  In 
this  manner  the  seed  is  equally  distri- 
buted over  all  the  ground. 

A  very  thin  piece  of  board  ma}'  be 
hooked  at  the  bottom  of  the  box,  to  pre- 
vent the  seed  dropping  out  before  the 
sowing  commences.  The  box  may  be 
made  of  light  cedar,  and  not  weigh  more 
than  six  or  eight  pounds  wdthout  the 
seed. 

The  Broadcast  Hand-Drill  is  used 

chiefly   for   sowing   clover,   and    other 

small  seeds,  with  or  without  grass  seeds. 

The  operation  is  still,  however,  much 

more   frequently   performed    by   hand. 

On  farms  of  a  large  size,  where  there  is 

a  uniformity  in  the  surface  of  the  soil,  in  moisture,  and  in 

richness,  broadcast  sowing  by  machinery,  drawn  by  cattle  or 

horses,  may  be  advantageously  adopted. 


Clover  Box. 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM.  441 

HAND  CULTIVATOR. 


The  Cnltivator.  The  great  utility  of  the  Cultivator  in 
dressing  corn,  sugar-beets,  ruta-baga,  and  indeed  all  hoed  crops, 
destroying  weeds,  and  pulverizing  the  soil  effectually  and 
cheaply,  is  so  manifest,  that  it  has  almost  entirely  superseded 
the  use  of  the  common  hoe.  No  good  farmer  will  now  use 
the  plough  in  the  after  culture  of  his  corn,  &c.  Those  so  con- 
structed as  to  admit  of  being  widened  or  contracted  at  pleasure, 
called  the  expanding  cultivators,  possess  decided  advantages, 
for  many  purposes,  over  the  others. 

By  being  passed  frequently  between  the  rows,  the  ground  is 
kept  free  from  weeds,  and  in  a  fine  state  of  pulverization,  while 
the  manure  and  vegetable  matter  is  left  under  cover,  to  impart 
their  beneficial  and  fertilizing  effects  to  the  roots  of  the  plants, 
which  are  preserved  from  injury.  _ 

It  should  be  passed  twice  at  a  dressing,  and  if  the  soil  is  stifi 
or  grassy,  it  may  be  passed  oftener,  or  repeated  at  short  inter- 
vals. The  teeth  are  of  various  forms,  according  to  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  are  used. 

BEMENT'S  CULTIVATOR. 


442  IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 

BamenVs  Improved  Cultivator  or  Horse-Hoe  is  so  con- 
structed that  it  is  adapted  to  soils  of  different  textures,  being 
furnished  with  shares  of  peculiar  forms,  according  to  the  nature 
and  character  of  the  soil  to  be  operated  on. 

A  very  simple,  cheap  and  efficacious  implement  is  in  use 
among  the  farmers  along  the  Delaware  for  dressing  the  ruta- 
baga, sugar-beet,  &c.  It  was  invented  by  Mahlon  S.  Kirk- 
bride,  who  calls  it  the  hoe-ta-baga.  It  is  a  great  improve- 
ment on  the  German  scuffle;  with  the  addition  of  the  wheel 
and  lancet-cutter  a  man  may  easily  dress  an  acre  and  a  half 
per  day,  the  rows  two  feet  apart.  The  machine  may  be  made 
for  about  two  dollars. 

THRESHING  MACHINES. 

The  saving  of  manual  labour,  and  that  of  a  severe  kind,  by 
means  of  the  invention  of  threshing  machines  is  perhaps  be- 
yond calculation — while  the  grain  is  separated  from  the  straw 
in  a  more  perfect  and  expeditious  manner  than  has  hitherto 
been  accomplished  by  any  other  mode.  Nothing  can  be  more 
objectionable  than  the  old  mode  of  separating  the  grain  by  the 
feet  of  horses  and  oxen;  and  no  labour  was  more  fatiguing  than 
threshing  it  by  that  tedious  and  defective  instrument — the 
flail.* 

Threshing  mills  are  driven  by  various  powers,  as  by  horses, 
oxen,  wind — wind,  and  horses  when  wind  fails — water,  or 
horses  when  the  water  is  deficient— and  steam.  Some  small 
machines  are  driven  by  manual  labour,  and  although  they  may 
be  adequate  to  thresh  the  crops  of  a  small  farm,  yet  we  would 
recommend  the  application  of  horse  power  in  preference.  The 
machines  ought  to  be  constructed  in  the  most  substantial  man- 
ner. 

There  are  a  variety  of  machines  of  this  character  in  use,  all 
of  which  have  their  advocates.  Those  first  invented  were  very 
imperfect,  but  of  late  great  changes  and  improvements  have 
been  made  in  their  construction,  and  they  now  rank  among  the 
best  and  most  important  of  the  labour-saving  machinery  of  the 
farm. 

Allen'' s  Threshing  Machine  is,  we  believe,  among  the  best 
of  the  kind.  It  occupies  but  a  small  space,  but  little  power  is 
required,  to  propel  it,  and  it  is  afforded  at  a  moderate  price. 
The  thresher  is  a  cube  of  two  feet  square,  that  is,  two  feet 
broad,  two  long  and  two  high;  and  such  is  its  compactness, 

*  Sir  John  Sinclair. 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OP  THE  FARM.  443 

that  the  wliole  machine,  including  the  horse  power,  may  be 
stowed  in  a  light  wagon,  and  transported  by  a  single  horse,  if 
necessary. 

P'osburgh's  Threshing  Machine,  for  which  a  patent  has  not 
been  obtained,  is  nevertheless  an  excellent  implement.  It  is  a 
cylinder,  working  horizontally  over  a  concave  armed  with 
teeth.     The  horse  power  is  fixed  and  permanent. 


Hale's  Improved  Horse  Power  and  Thresher. 

This  Horse  Power  occupies  only  the  small  space  of  nine  feet 
by  two,  can  be  easily  transported  from  place  to  place,  and  is 
very  simple  in  its  construction.  It  is  now  in  extensive  use, 
and  is  well  calculated  to  operate  on  any  kind  of  machinery  or 
agricultural  implement. 

There  are  a  variety  of  threshing  machines,  among  the  best 
of  which  are  Pit/s'  Horse  Poiuer  and  Thresher,  and  War- 
ren^s  Hand  or  Horse  Thresher. 

CORN  SHELLERS. 

A  corn  sheller  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  convenient 
labour  saving  machines  now  in  use.  A  great  variety  of  ma- 
chines for  this  purpose  have  been  invented,  and  introduced  to 
the  notice  of  the  farmer.  Among  those  most  in  use,  is  Har- 
rison's. The  wheel  of  this  machine  is  vertical,  and  is  turned 
with  a  crank  by  a  single  person.  It  can  be  applied  in  all  cases 
for  large  or  small  sized  ears;  and  will  shell  from  ten  to  twelve 
bushels  of  corn  per  hour. 


444 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM 


Patext  Corn  Sheller. 

The  Improved  Double  Operating  Corn  Sheller  \\\\\  ^heW 
two  ears  of  corn  at  the  same  time — can  be  worked  by  hand  or 
any  other  power — is  very  durable  and  not  liable  to  get  out  of 
order,  and  is  one  of  the  most  convenient  and  labour  saving 
machines  used  by  farmers. 

lidriance^s  Pafe?if,  and  MaxtvelPs  Self-feeding  Corn 
Sheller,  are  both  in  high  repute;  simple  in  their  construction, 
durable,  and  not  likely  to  get  out  of  order.  They  are  light, 
portable,  and  easily  removed  from  place  to  place. 

The  Winnowing  viachijie  is  designed  to  remove  the  husks 
or  chaff  from  the  grain,  and  to  separate  the  impurities  or  re- 
fuse intermixed.  With  certain  variations  in  the  form  of  its 
parts,  the  principle  of  construction  of  this  machine  is,  in  most 
places  where  it  is  used,  the  same — there  existing  a  very  strong 
family  likeness  among  all  that  we  have  seen. 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 
WINNOWING  MACHINE. 


445 


Holmes^  Winnowing  Machine  is  well  calculated  for  clean- 
ing all  kinds  of  grain,  and  can  be  applied  to  other  purposes — 
such  as  cleaning  rice,  coffee,  &c.  It  is  simple  in  construction 
and  efficient  in  operation. 

Thomas^  Improved  Grain  Cleanser  has  acquired  high  repu- 
tation wherever  used.  It  is  compact,  occupying  a  space  of  only 
six  feet  square,  strong,  durable,  with  care,  and  in  the  most  ex- 
peditious manner  separates  from  the  wheat  every  particle  of 
smut,  dirt,  seeds  and  dust,  without  the  smallest  loss  or  waste  of 
grain. 

IMPLEMENTS  FOR  PREPARING  FOOD  FOR  LIVE-STOCK. 

In  many  cases,  indeed  we  might  say  in  all  cases,  it  is  bene- 
ficial to  prepare  the  food  to  be  used  by  the  animals  of  the  farm, 
in  various  ways.  The  most  important  class  of  implements  used 
.for  this  purpose  in  Europe,  is  that  for  cutting  or  slicing  of 
roots,  as  they  are  generally  fed  in  a  raw  state  to  sheep  and 
oxen. 

The  straw  or  chaff  cutter,  is  a  machine  employed  for  cutting 
hay  and  straw  into  pieces  of  a  given  length.  By  this  process, 
it  is  found  that  the  dried  stems  of  plants  can  be  more  easily 
consumed  by  cattle,  and,  therefore,  afford  more  nutriment. 

In  this  class  of  machines,  the  hay,  straw,  or  other  substances 
to  be  cut,  are  placed  in  a  narrow  oblong  trough.  They  are 
then  pressed  forward  to  two  revolving  cylinders,  which,  while 
they  hold  them  with  firmness,  gradually  carry  them  through. 
They  are  then  acted  upon  by  one  or  more  knives.  At  each 
stroke  of  these  knives,  a  portion  of  the  straw  or  other  sub- 
stance is  cut  off,  of  the  length  required. 
38 


446 


IMPLEME>-TS.  ic.  OF  THE  FARM. 


The  desiderata  in  the  construction  of  the  machines,  are 
causinc;  the  knife  to  make  the  stroke  in  the  most  efficient  man- 
ner, which  is  done  b_v  placing  them  in  an  oblique  position, 
causing  the  straw  or  hav  to  be  brouglit  forward,  to  be  acted 
upon  by  the  knives  with  regularity,  and  so  adapting  this  to  the 
several  strokes  of  the  knives,  as  to  vary  the  length  of  the  cut 
according  to  the  degree  of  fineness  to  which  it  is  wished  to  re- 
duce the  stems. 

There  are  a  number  of  straw  and  chaff  cutters  in  use,  of  all 
sizes,  varieties,  patterns  and  prices.  Owing  to  the  great  im- 
provement and  simplicity  of  these  machines,  the  work  is  done 
with  great  expedition  and  facility.  They  are  of  great  value  to 
the  farmer. 

Greeix's  Patent  Straw,  Hay  and  Stalk  Cutter  is  very 
simple  in  its  construction,  and  being  made  and  put  together 
very  strong,  is  not  liable  to  get  out  of  order.  By  the  applica- 
tion of  a  mechanical  principle  not  before  applied  to  any  imple- 
ment for  this  purpose,  the  machine  will  cut  easily  two  bushels 
per  minute,  requiring  only  the  strength  of  a  boy  to  operate  it. 
The  knives  require  less  sharpening  than  those  of  any  other 
straw  cutter,  owing  to  the  peculiar  manner  in  which  they  cut. 
GREEN'S  PATENT  STRAW  CUTTER. 


Willises  Improved  Vegetable  Cutter  for  cutting  large  or 
small  roots.  The  great  objection  to  all  other  machines  is,  their 
cutting  the  roots  into  slices,  which  makes  it  almost  impossible 
for  the  cattle  to  get  hold  of  them;  this  machine,  with  a  little 
alteration,  cuts  them  into  large  or  small  pieces,  of  such  shape 
as  is  most  convenient  for  the  cattle  to  eat.     It  will  cut  with 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


447 


ease  from  one  to  two  bushels  of  roots  per  minute.     No  farmer 
should  be  without  one  of  these  machines. 

VEGETABLE  CUTTER. 


MOWING  AND  REAPING  MACHINES. 

"Though  reaping  machines,"  says  the  Editor  of  the  Ency- 
clopsedia  of  Agriculture,  "are  as  old  as  the  time  of  the  Romans, 
one  of  an  effective  description  is  yet  a  desideratum  in  agricul- 
ture unless  the  recent  invention"  of  Mr.  Obed  Hussey,  can 
be  considered  as  supplying  that  desideratum. 

Wilson^s  Moiving  Machine  or  Grass  and  Grain  Cutter  is 
highly  recommended  by  gentlemen  who  have  tried  it.  It  is 
principally  used  along  the  Hudson  river.  It  is  a  machine  of 
much  promise,  and  is,  we  presume,  an  improvement  on  the 
best  of  the  English  reaping  machines,  that  invented  by  Smith, 
of  Perthshire. 

Ilusser/'s  Moiving  and  Reaping  Machine  is,  perhaps,  supe- 
rior to  any  other,  for  its  simplicity,  durability,  and  the  great 
facility  and  regularity  with  which  it  performs  its  work.  It 
does  its  work  clean;  and  one  great  quality  is,  that  if  the  grain 
is  too  much  lodged  to  be  cradled,  it  will  cut  it  at  the  rate  of 
two  acres  per  hour,  nearly  as  clean  as  if  it  had  been  standing. 
It  can  be  adapted  to  the  inequalities  of  the  surface  of  a  field, 
and  has  been  so  improved  by  the  original  inventor,  (Mr.  Obep 
Hussey.)  as  to  operate  with  great  facility  on  stony  land. 

This  machine  has  received  the  spontaneous  and  unqualified  re- 
commendation of  all  farmers  who  have  tried  it, or  who  have  wit- 
nessed its  operations.  The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Agricultural 
Society  for  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  in  their  Report, 
made  in  1836,  say,  "We  deem  it  a  simple,  strong,  and  effective 
machine,  and  take  much  pleasure  in  awarding  unanimously. 


448 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


the  meritorious  inventor  of  it,  (Mr.  0.  Hussey,)  a  handsome 
pair  of  silver  cups." 


Husset's  Patent  Re.a  PIN      >  ■£. 

The  Committee  appointed  by  the  "Philadelphia  Society  for 
Promoting  Agriculture,"  to  superintend  the  operation  of  Mr. 
Hussey's  machine,  make  a  very  favourable  report,  recommend- 
ing it  to  the  attention  of  the  society  and  the  agricultural  com- 
munity generally.  They  state  that  it  was  put  in  operation  in 
a  piece  of  several  acres  of  heavy  wheat,  considerably  lodged, 
and  contrary  to  their  expectations,  it  performed  remarkably 
well. 

*'The  committee  estimate  the  ordinary  performance  of  the 
machine  at  from  ten  to  twelve  acres  per  day;  although  they 
fully  believe,  that  on  an  emergency,  it  would  accomplish  twice 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


449 


this  amount  of  work.  In  confirmation  of  this  they  would  state, 
that  it  cut  on  this  occasion,  six  hundred  and  thirty  square  yards 
in  two  minutes,  doing  its  work  in  the  most  perfect  manner." 

THE  HAY-SWEEP. 

The  object  of  the  Hay-Sweep  is  to 
collect  and  draw  the  hay  from  the  win- 
row  to  the  stack:,  or  place  of  deposit.  It 
consists  of  a  piece  of  scantling,  A  A,  3 
by  4  inches,  and  10  feet  long,  united  by 
seven  upright  bars  of  wood,  1  by  2 
inches,  and  3  feet  long,  to  another  piece 
B  B,  4  by  5  inches,  and  10  feet  long; 
through  the  latter,  six  holes  are  made 
in  a  horizontal  direction  to  receive  the 
teeth,  which  are  pieces  of  very  strong 
wood,  Ij  by  4  inches,  and  so  long  as  to 
project  two  feet  and  a  half  on  each  side 
of  the  piece  B  B,  and  tapering  on  their 
under  side  like  the  teeth  of  a  horse-rake, 
so  as  not  to  run  into  the  ground.  At 
the  ends  of  the  pieces  A  A,  B  B,  are  at- 
tached two  frames  C  D  E  F,  termed 
gates,  by  strong  hinges  so  made  that  the 
gates  may  turn  voimd  upon  them  through 
half  a  circle.  These  gates  consist  of 
two  pieces  of  scantling  3  inches  square 
and  3  feet  long,  united  by  two  bars  of 
wood  G  G,  each  1  by  2  inches,  and  3 
feet  long,  and  a  third  D  E,  3  inches 
square,  tapering  on  the  under  side  like 
the  runner  of  a  sled,  and  projecting  a 
few  inches  beyond  the  upright  piece  F 
E.  The  Whipple  trees  are  attached  to 
the  upright  pieces  F  E,  a  little  above  the 
middle;  they  should  admit  of  being  raised  __  _^_ 
or  lowered  in  order  to  adjust  the  height  ^'^^ 
exactly,  which  is  readily  determined  by 
trial.  ' 

The  mode  of  using  this  instrument  is 
as  follows: — A  horse  is  attached  to  the 
whipple-tree  at  each  end,  and  the  length 
of  which  is  to  be  regulated  to  the  draught 
in  such  a  way  that  the  bottom  of  the 
gate  may  keep" the  teeth  from  running  into  the  ground,  and  yet  under  the  hay. 
—  Not  the  lenst  management  or  skill  is  further  lequired;  a  small  boy  is  placed 
on  each  horse,  and  passing  on  each  side  of  the  winrow,  sweep  it  ofi',  and  carry 
it  to  the  stack.  On  arriving  there,  the  horses  are  turned  about,  causing  the 
gates  to  perform  a  semi-revolution,  and  drawing  the  instrument  lUt  from 
imder  the  heap  of  hay,  and  they  proceed  as  before  to  bring  up  another  load. 
The  teeth  on  each  side  of  the  piece  B  B  are  thus  alternately  used.  In  order 
that  the  hay  may  be  easily  pitched,  it  is  indispensable  that  the  load  be  left  at 
the  stack,  so  that  the  back  of  it  may  be  pitched  first.  From  three  to  five  hundred 
pounds  of  hay  are  generally  carried  in  each  load. 

As  a  labour-saving  machine,  where  the  distance  of  drawing  is  not  great, 
this  is  fully  equal  if  not  superior  to  the  revolving  rake.  Two  horses  and  two 
boys  only,  are  needed  in  using  it.  One  will  draw  fast  enough,  in  ordinary 
cases,  to  keep  three  pitchers  and  three  stackers  constantly  at  work.  With 
this  and  a  revolving  rake,  ten  acres  of  hay  may  be  cleared  from  the  ground  in 
half  a  day.  It  leaves  the  meadow  as  clean  as  is  done  by  a  common  rake.  The 
cost  of  making  is  not  more  than  three  or  four  dollars. 

3S* 


450  IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 

The  Common  Horse  Rake  is  much  used  in  many  parts  of  the 
country — it  is  so  simple  in  its  construction,  that  we  believe 
with  the  aid  of  the  following  cuts  or  illustrations,  and  the  full 
description  which  is  given,  will  enable  any  common  carpenter 
to  construct  either  the  common  or  revolving  rake. 

THE  COMMON  HORSE  RAKE. 


This  is  made  of  a  piece  of  strong  scantlinj:.  three  inches  square  and  ten  feet 
long,  into  which  about  fifteen  teeth  are  inserted  horizontally,  and  made  of 
strong  white  ash  or  other  tough  wood.  The  teeth  should  be  about  22  inches 
long,  and  one  inch  by  one  and  three  quarters  at  the  place  of  insertion,  and 
tapering  on  the  under  side,  o  as  to  give  them  a  slight  turn  upwards  at  the 
point,  to  prevent  their  running  into  the  ground  while  using.  The  draught 
ropes  are  attached  to  the  end  of  two  projecting  pieces  of  wood  parallel  to  the 
teeth,  at  each  end  of  the  rake.  These  projecting  pieces  should  be  about  one- 
third  of  the  length  of  the  teeth.  Those  unskilled  in  the  use  of  the  rake,  some- 
times attach  the  ropes  at  once  to  the  ends  of  the  head;  in  this  way  it  becomes 
almost  entirely  unmanageable.  The  forward  ends  of  the  draught  ropes  are 
to  be  fastened  to  the  horse's  collar,  leaving  space  enough  between  the  horse 
and  rake  for  the  collecting  hay.  Handles,  like  those  represented  in  the  figure, 
are  to  be  inserted  in  the  head'near  the  middle,  for  guiding  the  teeth  and  lift- 
ing the  rake  from  the  ground  when  necessary. 

In  using  this  rake,  instead  of  the  teeth  moving  onward  upon  their  points  as 
in  the  common  hand  rake,  they  run  along  flat  upon  the  ground,  passing  under 
and  collecting  the  hay;  when  full,  the  handles  are  thrown  forward,  the  rake 
emptied,  and  lifted  over  the  winrow  for  another  load.  The  rake  thus  passes 
backwards  and  forwards  across  the  field,  always  emptvin?  opposite  the  last 
heap,  and  thus  forming  regular  winrows  at  right  angles  with  the  path  of  the 
rake.  A  few  hours  practice  will  enable  any  one  to  use  this  rake  without  diffi- 
culty, the  only  skill  required  consisting  in  keeping  the  points  of  the  teeth  just 
so  low  as  to  pass  under  all  the  hay  and  yet  not  run  into  the  ground.  When 
small  obstructions  occur,  the  handles  are  depressed,  thus  causing  the  teeth  to 
rise,  and  the  rake  passes  freely  over.  Large  obstructions,  as  stumps  and  stone 
heaps,  require  the  rake  to  be  lifted  from  the  ground. 

The  chief  recommendation  of  this  kind,  is  its  cheapness  and  simplicity.  A 
good  one  need  cost  no  more  than  two  dollars.  It  may  also  be  used  on  rougher 
ground  than  the  revolving  rake,  as  it  is  more  easily  lifted  over  obstructions. 
Where  the  ground  is  very  uneven  the  teeth  should  be  much  shorter.  When 
one  becomes  well  accustomed  to  the  use  of  it,  work  may  be  done  nearly  as  fast 
with  this,  as  with  a  revolving  rake,  though  much  more  laborious.  Twelve 
acres  of  hay,  part  of  it  yielding  nearly  three  tons  to  the  acre,  on  a  meadow  of 
the  writer,  were  raked  into  winrows,  by  means  of  one  of  these  rakes,  in  about 
,w'.«  hours,  working  time.  It  possesses  another  advantage  over  the  revolving 
rake — it  may  be  used  for  scraping  the  winrows  into  heaps  for  drawing,  and  if 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c,  OF  THE  FARM. 


451 


the  hay  is  stacked  in  the  field,  for  drawing  the  hay  to  the  stack.  A  man  with 
a  rake  and  horse,  not  only  raked  the  hay,  but  drew  it  at  the  same  time  to  the 
stack,  a  distance  of  from  ten  to  twenty  rods,  as  fast  as  an  active  man  could 
pitch  with  a  fork.  A  hand  rake  need  scarcely  ever  be  used  on  the  meadow, 
as  all  the  scattered  hay  may  be  raked  up  in  a  short  time,  after  the  rest  of  the 
hay  has  been  drawn  off. 

The  horse  rake  is  very  useful  in  raking  stubble  of  wheat,  and  eminently  so 
in  pulling  and  gathering  peas. 

Shafts,  instead  of  ropes  have  been  attached  to  the  head  of  the  rake,  and 
have  been  strongly  recommended;  but  they  diminish  the  simplicity  of  the  rake, 
and  appear  to  possess  no  advantage  on  the  whole,  and  forgathering;  and  draw- 
ing hay,  are  positively  detrimental. 

THE  REVOLVING  RAKE. 
Fig.  6L 


This  is  much  more  complex  in  its  construction  than  the  common  horse  rake, 
but  possesses  advantages  over  it  in  ease  and  expedition  in  raking.  Its  pecu- 
liar advantage  is  the  facility  with  which  it  may  be  unloaded,  requiring  for 
this  purpose  but  a  slight  elevation  of  the  handles,  and  without  stoppino-  once 
in  crossing  the  whole  breadth  of  the  meadow.  " 

Its  construction  is  as  follows:— The  head  A  B,  fig.  CI,  is  a  piece  of  strong 


452  IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 

scautling,  three  inches  square  and  ten  feet  Ion?,  through  which  eighteen  holes, 
one  inch  square,  are  made  to  receive  the  teeth,  which  are  pieces  of  the 
strongest  white  ash,  one  inch  square  and  thiee  feei  kmg,  projecting  equally  on 
both  sides  of  the  head  when  inserted,  and  forming  a  double  row  of  teeth,  each 
about  eighteen  inches  long.  The  draught  chains  or  ropes  D  D,  are  attached 
to  the  forward  ends  of  two  curved  aims  E  E,  which  are  connected  at  their 
other  ends  to  the  head  of  the  rake  by  iron  straps  passing  round  the  head  so  as 
to  allow  it  to  revolve  freely.  G,  fig.  (32,  represents  a  portion  of  one  of  the 
curved  arms,  showing  the  hole  formed  by  the  iron  strap,  and  H  represents  a 
part  of  the  head  which  turns  in  this  hole.  These  arms  are  held  firmly  to- 
gether by  the  cross  piece  I.  An  improvement  in  the  curved  arms  is  made  by 
constructing  them  of  two  pieces  at  right  angles,  in  a  form  similar  to  a  car- 
penter's square,  the  first  or  shortest  piece  rising  perpendicular  from  the  head, 
and  the  other  projecting  forward,  and  to  which  the  draught  chains  are  attach- 
ed. By  this  construction,  more  space  is  allowed  beneath  these  arms  for  the 
collection  of  the  ha)^ 

The  cross  rod  K,  connecting  the  handles  C  C,  serves  for  guiding  and 
managing  the  rake.  These  handles  are  connected  to  the  head  by  a  contrivance 
precisely  similar  to  that  of  the  curved  arms.  At  the  middle  of  the  handles  is 
a  cross  rod  P  P,  upon  which  turns  the  small  frame  M,  which  is  connected  (by 
turning  joints)  by  means  of  the  rod  N,  to  the  cross  piece  I.  This  rod  must  be 
of  just  such  length  as  to  cais^e  the  frame  M,  when  pressed  down  upon  the 
teeth  by  the  handles,  to  touch  them  within  about  half  an  inch  of  their  points; 
by  this,  the  teeth  are  pressed  flat  upon  the  ground  while  raking.  To  empty 
the  load  this  frame  is  raised  by  the  handles  beyond  the  reach  of  the  teeth,  and 
they  pass  it  freely  without  touching.  The  rake  is  unloaded  by  means  of  the 
following  contrivance.  Outside  of  the  handles  C  C,  are  two  pieces  of  wood 
F  F,  turning  freely  upon  the  two  projecting  ends  of  the  rod  P  P,  as  pivots, 
■with  their  lower  etids  resting  upon  pieces  of  iron  fastened  crosswise  on  the 
head  of  the  rake,  just  outside  of  the  joints  connecting  the  handles  to  it.  The 
shape  of  these  pieces  of  iron  is  shown  in  a  detached  view  at  O,  fig.  62.  When 
the  handles  are  raised,  the  pieces  F  F,  are  thrown  forward  oh  these  pieces  of 
iron,  until  they  strike  the  projecting  part  of  them,  when  they  immediately  act 
as  braces,  and  cause  the  rake  to  rise  with  the  handles.  The  points  of  the 
teeth  thus  strike  in  the  ground,  and  the  horse  continuing  in  motion,  causes  the 
rake  to  make  a  semi-revolution,  emptying  the  load,  and  throwing  the  back  row 
of  teeth  forward  to  be  filled  as  before.  The  handles  C  C,  should  he  perfectly 
parallel,  that  the  pieces  F  F,  may  play  freely.  S,  is  a  strong  iron  brace,  fast- 
ened at  each  end  to  the  handles,  and  at  the  middle  to  the  cross  rod  P  P.  The 
cost  of  this  rake  is  about  six  dollars.  The  revolving  rake  is  better  adapted 
for  use  on  large  farms  and  smooth  meadows,  and  the  common  horse  rake  on 
small  farms  and  rough  meadows. 

A  very  ea.sy  mode  of  cutting  turnips,  potatoes  or  other  roots 
into  pieces  for  cattle,  is  by  an  instrument  with  four  blades  at 
right  angles  to  one  another.  The  root  is  struck  as  it  lies  on 
the  ground,  or  in  the  feeding-trough,  and  thus  at  one  stroke  is 
divided  into  four  parts. 

MACHLNES  FOR  BRUISING  GRAIN. 

A  machine  Is  used  occasionally  for  bruising  seeds,  as  of  oats, 
peas,  corn,  &c.,  intended  for  the  food  of  animals,  thus  rendering 
the  mastication  more  perfect.  There  are  different  forms  of  these 
machines.  They  are  sometimes  driven  by  the  hand,  though 
this  is  better  done  by  a  power  attached  to  the  threshing  ma- 
chine; or,  where  this  is  not  convenient,  by  a  single  horse 
power. 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


453 


Perhaps  the  best  construction  of  this  class  of  machines  is  that 
of  two  plane  rollers  of  large  diameter,  kept  in  rapid  motion,  the 
grain  to  be  bruised  being  supplied  from  a  hopper,  so  as  to  pass 
between  them.  The  machines  driven  by  hand,  are  convenient, 
as  being  portable;  but  the  labour  of  driving  them  is  considera- 
ble, and  all  the  purposes  of  such  machines  may  be  served  by 
having  the  seeds  coarsely  ground  in  any  common  grain  mill. 


Apparatus  for  Boiling  and  Steaming  Food. 

In  numerous  cases  it  is  found  to  add  to  the  nutritive  proper- 
ties of  roots  and  grain,  to  boil  them  before  they  are  given  to 
animals.  The  most  economical  method  of  preparation,  is  by 
heating  the  water  by  means  of  steam,  conveyed  from  the  boiler 
to  the  vessel  containing  the  roots  or  grain.  Any  kind  of 
wooden  box  or  barrel  will  answer  the  purpose,  formed  so  as  to 
admit  of  being  readily  filled  and  emptied. 

The  steam  is  to  be  conveyed  in  a  pipe  to  the  lower  part  of  the 
vessel,  which  ought  to  have  a  sliding  board  at  the  bottom  to 
allow  the  contents  to  be  discharged  when  ready.  The  vessel 
may  be  filled  with  water,  though  this  is  not  necessary  in  the 
case  of  succulent  roots,  as  the  potato,  because  the  steam  is 
quickly  condensed.  But  when  corn  is  to  be  boiled,  it  should 
be  covered  with  water,  that  the  steam  may  be  condensed. 

The  above  figure  represents  a  steaming  apparatus  of  a  suf- 
ficiently good  construction.  A,  is  a  barrel  or  other  vessel  for 
containing  water  and  supplying  it  to  the  boiler  C.  D  is  a  safety- 
valve.  At  the  upper  part  of  the  boiler  at  C,  are  placed  two 
tubes,  with  stop-cocks.  One  of  these  tubes  terminates  near  the 
bottom  of  the  boiler.     Upon  the  stop-cock  being  turned,  water 


454 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


should  always  issue  from  this  tube.  When,  therefore,  steam 
issues  from  it,  and  not  water,  this  indicates  that  the  water  is 
too  much  boiled  away,  and  consequently  that  there  is  a  defi- 
ciency of  water  in  the  boiler.  The  other  tube  terminates  within 
the  boiler  near  the  top.  Upon  the  stop-cock  being  turned, 
therefore,  steam  ought  always  to  issue  forth.  But  should  water 
in  place  of  steam  come  out,  then  it  will  appear  that  the  boiler 
is  too  full  of  water.  In  this  manner,  tlie  attendant  by  turning 
either  stop-cock,  ascertains  whether  there  is  a  deficiency  or  ex- 
cess of  water  in  the  boiler. 

The  quantity  of  water  could  indeed  be  regulated  by  nicer 
means;  but  that  described  will  be  found  sufficient  in  practice. 
F  is  the  furnace,  and  E  is  a  pipe  with  stop-cock,  communi- 
cating with  the  boiler.  When  it  is  wished  to  obtain  hot  water, 
it  is  obtained  by  this  pipe.  A  pipe  G,  communicates  with  the 
barrels  H,  I,  K,  and  conveys  the  steam  to  them;  and  in  these 
is  placed  the  food  to  be  steamed.  By  means  of  the  stop-cocks, 
T,  T,  T,  the  communication  can  be  cut  ofl'  with  any  of  the  bar- 
rels, so  that  the  steam  may  be  admitted  to  one  barrel  or  two 
barrels,  or  three,  as  may  be  intended.  Each  barrel  has  a  move- 
able lid,  which  is  kept  down  by  screws,  and  a  sliding  board 
below,  by  which  the  food,  when  ready,  is  withdrawn,  so  that 
a  wheelbarrow  or  vat  may  be  placed  below,  and  the  food  at 
once  emptied  into  it.  By  means  of  an  apparatus  of  this  kind, 
roots  and  oiher  parts  of  plants  may  be  steamed  in  a  convenient 
and  economical  manner. 


A,  Boiler. 

D,  Steam-pipes. 

G,  Doors. 

K,  Receiving-tub. 


B,  Furnace. 
E,  Steamer. 
H,  Trap. 


C,  Funnel. 

F,  Rack. 

I,  W'aste-pipe. 


The  preceding  figure  represents  an  ordinary  steam  apparatus; 
may  be  put  up  for  a  mere  trifle,  and  food  sufficient  for  twelve 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


455 


to  twenty  horses,  be  got  ready  in  a  very  short  space  of  time, 
and  with  but  little  fuel.  If  it  is  not  deemed  advisable  to  erect 
the  apparatus  for  tliis  particular  purpose,  the  copper,  commonly 
placed  in  the  corner  of  almost  every  work-house,  may  be  re- 
placed by  an  iron  boiler,  and  used  in  the  following  manner. 

In  the  top  there  are  two  holes,  one  for  receiving  a  funnel  to 
supply  the  boiler  with  water,  and  the  other  for  admitting  the 
neck  of  a  leaden  pipe,  which  conveys  the  vapour  to  the  steamer; 
the  funnel  is  furnished  with  a  steam-tight  plug,  and  the  boiler 
should  be  kept  about  two-thirds  full.  Adjoining  the  boiler,  a 
strongly  rivetted  box,  of  sufficient  dimensions  to  contain  the 
intended  quantity  of  food,  is  placed  upon  a  frame  of  equal 
height  with  the  top  of  the  boiler,  from  which  the  steam-pipe 
passes  into  it  a  few  inches  above  the  bottom,  and  just  under  a 
rack  of  laths,  made  strong  enough  to  support  the  food,  Avhich 
is  to  be  placed  upon  it,  and  close  enough  to  prevent  its  falling 
through  the  intervals.  The  front  of  the  box  opens  by  either 
sliding  or  falling  doors,  sufficiently  large  to  allow  the  food 
being  put  in  and  taken  out,  and  sufficiently  tight  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  the  steam;  and  in  the  top  there  is  a  small  but  heavy 
trap-door,  the  weight  of  which  keeps  it  down,  unless  the  pres- 
sure of  the  steam  be  too  great,  in  which  case  it  is  forced  open, 
and  allowing  a  portion  of  the  steam  to  pass,  thus  acts  as  a 
safety-valve.  The  steam  penetrates  through  the  rack  into  the 
whole  mass  of  materials  in  the  box,  and,  when  condensed, 
drains  down  again,  as  water,  with  the  oozings  of  the  vegeta- 
bles, upon  the  bottom,  from  which  it  is  conveyed  away  by  a 
■waste-pipe  communicating  with  the  boiler.  In  placing  the 
food  care  should  be  taken  to  put  the  roots  at  the  bottom,  and 
those  articles  which  lie  closer, — such  as  hay,  straw,  bran,  or 
chaff, — at  the  top,  so  as  to  allow  a  free  passage  upwards  for  the 
steam.  'A  large  basket  may  be  placed  underneath  the  box,  into 
which  the  food  may  be  raked  when  ready;  or  a  tub,  with  a 
cock  at  the  bottom,  to  let  off  water,  may  be  used  both  for  that 
purpose,  and  for  washing  the  roots  previously  to  their  being 
steamed.  The  interior  of  the  box  may  be  divided  by  slidiuf 
partitions,  reaching  as  far  down  as  the  rack,  for  the  conve- 
nience of  separating  the  different  kinds  of  foods,  if  that  should 
be  thought  necessary:  the  steam-pipe  may  also  be  made  to  pass 
along  its  whole  length,  and  being  perforated  with  small  holes, 
will  thus  distribute  the  vapour  equally. 

There  is  no  occasion  for  the  box  being  so  large  as  to  prepare 
all  that  may  be  required  at  one  time,  as  a  very  large  portion  of 
different  materials  may  all  be  steamed  within  an  hour.  The 
annexed  figure  will  fully  explain  the  plan  of  the  machine,  the 
whole  cost  of  which  would  probably  not  exceed  forty  dollars. 


456 


IMPLEMENTS,  &c.  OF  THE  FARM. 


There  are  many  very  simple  and  cheap  contrivances  for 
cooking  and  steaming  food  for  stock — some  of  them  answer 
exceedingly  well.  The  simpler  this  kind  of  apparatus,  the 
better.     Convenience  and  economy  should  be  consulted, 

Jacob  Frantz,  Jan.,  Esq.,  of  Lancaster  county,  has  invented 
a  cheap  and  most  valuable  apparatus,  calculated  for  the  com- 
mon farmer,  to  feed  from  forty  to  fifty  hogs,  and  steam  and 
scald  the  feed  for  ten  to  fifteen  head  of  cattle  at  the  same  time. 
It  answers  the  purpose  admirably,  is  cheap,  and  may  be  easily 
erected  on  any  farm.  A  full  description,  with  a  cut,  may  be 
found  on  page  268  of  the  second  volume  of  the  Farmer's 
Cabinet. 

PRUNING  CHISELS  AND  SAWS. 


The  Pruning  Knife  and  Saw  are  very  useful  implements. 
If  fruit  and  ornamental  trees  are  suffered  to  run  to  wood,  they 
will  yield  less  fruit  and  of  an  inferior  quality. 

Budding  and  Pruning  Knives  of  a  great  variety  of  forms 
and  shapes. 

Tree  Scrapers  should  be  used  every  season  in  removing  the 
dry  and  hard  bark  from  trees  to  insure  a  vigorous  growth,  and 
keep  them  in  full  bearing. 

FRUIT  GATHERERS. 


A  very  useful  article  for  gathering  all  kinds  of  fruit,  particu- 
larly for  those  who  wish  to  gather  choice  fruit  without  bruising. 


457 


XIX.—PLANTS    CULTIVATED    FOR    THEIR    USES 
IN  DOMESTIC  ECONOMY  AND  THE  ARTS. 

The  plants  cultivated  for  their  uses  in  domestic  economy 
and  the  arts,  constitute  a  very  numerous  class.  They  often 
yield  large  returns  by  way  of  profit;  but  they  are  rarely  culti- 
vated in  fields,  and  for  the  most  part  they  fall  more  legitimate- 
ly within  the  province  of  the  gardener  than  the  farmer.  We 
shall,  however,  notice  in  this  place,  such  plants  only  of  this 
order  as  may  be  raised  by  the  farmer  to  a  profit. 

FULLER'S  OR  CLOTHIER'S  TEASEL— DIPSACUS  FULLONUM. 

This  plant  is  a  native  of  Europe,  and  is  cultivated  with  emi- 
nent success  in  Germany,  and  also  in  various  districts  in  Eng- 
land. It  is  an  herbaceous  biennial,  growing  from  four  to  six 
feet  high,  prickly  and  rough  in  the  stem  and  leaves,  terminated 
by  the  large  head  which  is  used  in  the  manufacturing  process 
for  raising  the  nap  on  woollen  cloths,  which  is  done  by  the 
crooked  awns  of  the  head,  for  which  purpose  they  are  fixed  to 
the  circumference  of  a  broad  wheel,  which  is  turned  round 
while  the  cloth  is  pressed  against  them.  Many  ingenious  and 
scientific  men  have  attempted  substitutes  in  machinery  made 
of  steel;  but  there  is  a  natural  elasticity  about  the  vegetable 
that  cannot  be  imparted  to  the  steel;  the  latter,  it  is  said,  even 
when  made  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  is  liable  to  tear  and 
otherwise  injure  or  damage  the  cloth. 

The  teasels  held  in  the  highest  estimation  are  raised  in  Ger- 
many, in  some  parts  of  which  great  pains  are  taken  in  their 
culture — those  raised  in  England  and  many  parts  of  Europe^ 
being  of  an  inferior  character,  command  a  less  price — yet  they 
are  not  unfrequently  imported  into  this  country  as  the  German 
teasel.  We  have  it  in  our  power,  to  put  an  end,  at  once  and 
forever,  to  this  species  of  imposition;  and  by  a  very  simple 
process,  that  of  cultivating  the  teasel  and  supplying  our  own 
manufactories.  Our  soil  and  climate  is  admirably  adapted  to 
its  culture,  and  all  that  is  necessary,  we  conceive,  to  produce 
an  article  equal  to  the  German  teasel,  is  the  obtaining  of  true 
seed,  and  proper  care  in  its  culture  and  preparation.  We 
have  been  shewn  some  teasels  raised  in  Connecticut,  as  fine, 
beautiful,  plump  and  large,  as  the  best  of  the  imported,  and 
they  were  pronounced  by  an  eminent  manufacturer  as  equal, 
39 


458  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  USES 

in  every  respect,  to  the  best  German.  This  gentleman  had 
tested  them,  and  his  declaration  was  founded  on  that  test. 
I  enquired  why  he  did  not  use  native  teasels  wholly;  his 
reply  was,  "We  cannot  safely  rely  upon  our  farmers  for  a 
regular  supply — some  are  inattentive  to  the  culture  and  bring 
in  an  inferior  article,  and  receive  a  corresponding  price,  be- 
come dissatisfied,  and  give  it  up.  Others,  who  by  proper  at- 
tention, and  there  are  but  few  of  this  class,  raise  a  prime  article, 
receive  an  excellent  return  for  their  labour,  outlay,  Sec. ;  but 
these  are  too  limited  to  depend  upon  or  to  supply  the  demand, 
which  is  frequently  fluctuating  as  well  as  the  price." 

In  the  Agricultural  Survey  of  Berkshire  county,  IVIassa- 
chusetts,  the  Commissioner  states,  "that  of  other  crops  raised 
in  this  country,  the  one  that  principally  deserves  attention, 
because  the  cultivation  is  not  much  known,  is  the  Fuller^s 
Teasel.  In  some  few  places  it  has  been  cultivated  with  emi- 
nent success.  We  believe,  that  considerable  attention  is  paid 
to  its  cultivation  in  Vermont,  and  small  parcels  have  been 
raised  in  Pennsylvania  east  of  the  Susquehanna,  but  its  cul- 
ture has  no  where  in  the  middle  states  been  systematically  in- 
troduced. Mr.  CoLMAN,  in  his  notice  of  the  cultivation  of  the 
teasel  in  Berkshire  county,  says:* 

I  have  the  estimates  of  three  farmers  familiar  with  the  cultivation,  whose 
estimates  of  the  3'ield  of  an  acre  will  be  found  to  differ  considerably  from  each 
other.  This  may  arise  from  a  difference  in  the  cultivation,  or  in  the  assort- 
ing of  the  several  qualities;  perhaps  the  one  includes  more  what  he  deems 
marketable  than  the  other.  Of  the  farmer  who  reported  the  smallest  amgunt, 
I  only  say  that  his  crop  was  beautiful,  and  his  teasels  all  assorted  with  the 
greatest  care,  being  done  up  in  separate  bunches  with  neatness,  and  hung  up 
separately  to  be  dried.  He  reports  eighty-five  thousand  to  an  acre.  Another 
reports  from  two  to  three  hundred  thousand.  A  third,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand;  and  states,  that  on  three  acres,  he,  in  one  instance,  obtained  a  crop 
of  one  million.  In  one  instance  thirty  thousand  were  raised  on  one-sixth  of 
an  acre — that  is,  at  the  rate  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  per  acre.  The 
bur  must  be  one  inch  and  a  half  in  length  in  order  to  be  merchantable.  The 
manufacturer  will  buy  those  which  are  shorter,  but  at  an  inferior  price.  The 
English  divide  them  into  three  qualities,  viz:  kings,  middlings,  scrubs.  The 
latter  are  sold  at  a  low  rate. 

They  are  a  crop  which  requires  two  years  to  come  to  maturity — and  they 
are  liable  to  be  killed  by  the  winter.  The  soil  should  be  a  deep,  rich,  moist 
loam.  The  cultivation  should  be  as  careful  and  thorough  as  for  any  garden 
crop.  The  English  speak  of  a  clayey  soil  as  being  most  favourable  to  this 
crop,  and  advise  against  high  manuring.  Our  own  cultivators  are  of  a  differ- 
ent opinion,  and  say  that  the  ground  cannot  be  made  too  rich.  [In  this  they 
coincide  with  the  most  experienced  cultivators  in  Germany.]  The  crops  with 
us  are  as  large  as  the  English  crops — but  our  cultivators  often  raise  a  crop  of 
carrots  between  the  rows  of  teasels. 

The  plants  are  sowed  in  rows  eighteen  inches  apart,  and  they  are  subse- 
quently thinned  to  the  distance  of  four  inches  in  the  row.  They  are  to  be  kept 
as  clean  as  possible,  and  in  the  spring  every  other  row  is  to  be  taken  up,  and 

*  Second  Report  of  the  Agriculture  df  Ma.ssachusetts,  by  Rev.  Henry  Coi.- 
MAN-,  Commissioner  for  the  Agricultural  Survey  of  the  State — Berkshire  county. 
This  is  an  interesting  and  importajit  document. 


IN  DOMESTIC  ECONOMY  AND  THE  ARTS.  459 

the  plants  left  a  foot  apart  in  the  row— those  which  are  taken  up  may  be  trans- 
planted; but  the  transplanted  roots  are  never  so  productive  as  those  which  re- 
main where  thev  are  sown.  [We  cannot  find  it  recommended  in  any  of  our 
foreign  works,  to  take  up  every  other  row,  &c.;  and  on  enquiry  of  several  in- 
lellisent  Germans  who  were  acquainted  somewhat  with  the  culture  of  teasels, 
we  learn  that  such  is  not  the  practice  in  Germany.  We  presume  it  is  original 
in  American  practice,  but  what  benefit  arises  from  it  is  not  stated,  and  we  can- 
not conceive.]  ».  .  n 

Tea.sels  are  considered  verv  good  when  thev  yieldlwenty  burs  to  a  stalK— 
fifteen  is  considered  a  good  crop.  A  careful  farmer  in  Berkshire  countv  otteu 
gets  fifiv— but  his  cultivation  is  verv  skilful.  They  are  to  be  gathered  soon 
after  the  blossoms  fall,  and  while  green,  excepting  what  are  reserved  for  seed. 
An  industrious  man  will  cut  six  thousand  per  day— ten  thousand  are  some- 
times cut,  but  it  is  an  extraordinary  day's  work.  [We  should  think  some  ol 
the  work  rather  slovenlv  done.] 

Teasels  are  liable  to  be  killed  bv  winter,  or  rather  by  thawing  and  freezing 
in  the  spring;  particularlv  from  siiow  water  freezing  in  the  heart  of  the  plant. 
The  snow,  "therefore,  in  the  spring,  is  to  be  carefully  cleared  away  Irom  ine 
plant.  The  plants  require  to  be  protected  in  the  winter  by  a  covering  of  hem- 
lock branches— straw  is  ofien  used,  but  it  is  apt  to  become  a  harbour  for  mice, 
which  destroy  the  plants.  A  farmer  in  Stockbridge  recommends  scattering 
some  ?rain  among  the  plants,  to  divert  the  worm  from  the  teasel.  At  a  dollar 
and  fifty  cents,  (the  present  price.)  per  thousand,  under  good  cultivation  they 
will  afford  a  fair  compensation.  The  best  article  can  be  raised  at  as  little  ex- 
pense as  an  inferior  plant,  and  the  value  of  it  in  the  market  is  much  greater. 
It  is  to  be  said  in  favour  of  this  crop,  that  the  high  manuring  and  clean  cul- 
tivation which  it  requires,  makes  it  an  excellent  preparation  for  wheat. 
The  crop,  if  well  cured  and  managed,  is  of  a  durable  character— and  the 
farmer,  therefore,  need  not  sacrifice  his  product  through  any  unfavourable 
fluctuations  in  the  market. 

An  experienced  manufacturer  says,  tliat  for  a  woollen  facto- 
ry, the  teeth  must  be  full  and  strong— the  colour  gree7i-i/ellou'. 
When  yellow,  it  indicates  the  teasel  has  been  cut  too  late.  If 
quite  green,  it  is  not  good,  as  the  teeth  run  all  one  way,  and  do 
not  corne  back,  not  having  had  sufficient  sun.  If  too  yellow, 
they  are  too  ripe,  and  their  strength  is  generally  lost._ 

The  teasel  crop,  in  ordinary  seasons,  proper  attention  and  a 
fair  market,  is  about  as  yaluable  as  any  grown  by  the  farn:ier. 
A  correspondent  for  the  ''Silk  Grower,"  the  correctness  of 
whose  statement  I  learn  has  been  guaranteed  by  the  editor, 
describes  his  mode  of  culture  as  below,  and  gives  data  as  to 
the  profits  of  his  crop.  JNIake  a  deduction  of  one-half,  and  the 
result  will  be  such  as  to  satisfy  any  man  of  reasonable  desires. 

The  soil  should  be  rich,  not  sandv,  but  loamy.  I  begin  to  sow  in  the  spring, 
not  expectin?  a  crop  till  a  year  from  next  fall.  In  order  that  I  may  have  an 
ammal  crop  A  adopt  the  following  method:  Sow  two  rows  about  sixteen  inches 
apart  leaving  the  plants  about  twelve  inches  apart— if  too  thick,  I  transplant 
them  next  spring.  I  then  leave  a  space  of  four  feet  for  the  next  year's  crop, 
which  is  manured  bv  means  of  a  hand-cart.  I  hoe  the  plants  well  two  or  three 
times.  The  same  piece  of  land,  if  well  cultivated,  will  bear  a  good  crop  for 
several  years.  To  make  it  still  more  profitable,  I  sow  English  turnip  seed  on 
the  vacant  parts.  In  this  way  I  raise  about  two  hundred  bushels  of  good  tur- 
nips [to  the  acre].  It  does  not  cost  any  more  to  raise  teasels  than  it  does  corn. 
There  is  no  danger  of  the  frost  injuring  them.  I  raise  from  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  to'two  hundred  thousand  to  the  acre.  This  year  they  are  worth 
a  dollar  and  a  half  per  thousand— some  seasons  they  command  three  dollars. 


460  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  USES 

I  raised  two  acres  of  them  this  year.  At  the  present  prices  the  profit  per  acre 
is  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  dollars.  When  they  command 
three  dollars  per  thousand,  the  profit  is  from  four  hundred  and  fifty  to  six  hun- 
dred dollars. 

In  those  counties  in  England  in  which  the  finest  and  best 
teasels  are  raised,  the  sowing  season  commences  about  the  be- 
ginning of  April.  The  English  mode  of  sowing  is  broadcast, 
though  the  plant  is  evidently  better  adapted  to  the  drill  or  row 
system.  The  quantity  of  seed  varies  according  to  the  method 
adopted,  from  one  to  two  pecks  per  acre;  and  in  quality  the 
seed  should  be  fresh  and  plump.  In  taking  the  teasel  crop  the 
heads  are  cut  off  as  they  become  ripe;  but  the  work  is  mostly 
performed  at  three  different  periods,  with  intervals  of  about 
ten  days  between  each.  A  knife  with  a  short  blade  and  a 
string  attached  to  the  haft,  is  used  for  the  purpose.  A  pair  of 
stout  strong  gloves  is  also  necessary.  The  operator  then  cuts 
off  the  ripe  heads  with  about  nine  inches  of  stem,  and  ties  them 
up  in  handfuls,  with  a  perfectly  ripened  stem.  In  the  evening 
they  are  to  be  placed  in  a  dry  shed,  and  afterwards,  when  the 
weather  is  fair  and  the  air  clear,  they  should  be  exposed  to  the 
influence  of  the  sun,  until  they  become  dry.  After  this,  they 
may  be  put  away  into  a  dry  room,  where  they  are  to  remain 
until  wanted  for  use.  But  previously  to  being  taken  to  market 
they  should  be  sorted  into  three  classes,  and  done  up  with  care 
and  neatness. 

To  save  seeds  leave  a  few  of  the  finest  and  best  plants  un- 
cropped,  and  then,  when  the  seed  is  ripe,  cut  off  only  the  largest 
and  terminating  heads,  from  which  the  seed  may  be  separated 
by  the  flail,  and  cleansed  by  the  sieve  or  winnowing  machine. 
The  chief  enemies  of  the  teasel  are  the  fly  and  the  slug — their 
injuries  are  inflicted  on  the  plant  while  it  is  young. 

BLACK  AND  WHITE  MUSTARD— SJA^APJS  NIGRA  ET  ALBA. 

As  we  have  remarked  in  another  place,  the  Black  and  White 
Mustard  are  plants  not  unfrequently  cultivated  for  their  oils. 
They  are  likewise  applicable  to  other  purposes,  and  in  an  espe- 
cial degree  to  the  making  of  the  well  known  condiment — mus- 
tard— which  is  much  used  in  many  countries.  Both  these 
species  are  annual;  admit  of  easy  culture,  and  ripen  their  seeds 
early  in  autumn.  For  spring  or  summer  consumption,  it  is 
recommended  to  sow  at  intervals  of  a  week  or  ten  days  in 
March  and  April.  They  may  be  sown  in  rows  on  a  flat  sur- 
face like  grain,  the  distance  between  the  rows  being  twelve 
inches,  so  as  to  allow  a  space  suflicient  for  a  person  to  work 
between  the  rows  with  a  hand-hoe  to  advantage.  They  re- 
quire no  further  culture  than  weeding  during  their  growth. 


IN  DOMESTIC  ECONOMY  AND  THE  ARTS.  45 j[ 

When  reaped,  they  are  bound  in  bunches,  left  out  a  few  days 
to  wither,  if  the  weather  proves  fair,  and  are  then  stacked 
(under  cover)  to  remain  until  they  are  required  for  use. 

It  is  the  Black  species,  Siiiapis  nigra,  a  much  larger  plant, 
with  darker  leaves,  and  their  divisions  blunter  than  the  white, 
which  is  chiefly  cultivated  and  ground  into  flour  for  mustard; 
although  the  white,  which  is  less  pungent,  is  often  mixed  with 
it.  By  some  manufacturers,  both  are  mixed  with  the  wild 
mustard  and  the  wild  radish — but  the  adulteration  is  not 
otherwise  hurtful  than  as  it  is  a  fraud  upon  the  consumer. 
But  no  American  farmer  need  suffer  in  this  way — if  he  does,  it 
is  his  own  fault,  as  he  can,  without  expense  worth  naming, 
produce  a  better  and  purer  article  than  the  best  of  the  imported. 
The  White  mustard  is  used  in  salads  along  with  cress  or  pep- 
per-grass. It  is  cultivated  in  the  same  way  as  the  black;  that 
is,  it  should  be  sown  in  rows,  a  foot  or  more  apart,  in  the 
spring,  and  the  plants  thinned  so  as  to  stand  four  or  five  inches 
from  each  other  in  the  rows. 

Why  should  any  man  that  has  a  garden  hvij  mustard'?  Why  should  he  want 
foreigners  to  send  him  out,  in  a  buttle,  and  sell  him  for  a  quarter  of  a  dollar, 
less  and  worse  mustard  than  he  can  raise  in  his  garden  for  a  peniiyl  Imported 
mustard  is,  iii  general,  a  thing  fabricated — a  composition  of  baked  bones  re- 
duced to  powder — some  wheat  flour — some  colouring — and  a  drug  of  some  sort 
to  give  the  pungent  taste.  Whoever  uses  it  freely,  will  find  a  burning  inside 
long  after  he  has  swallowed  it.  Why  should  any  man,  who  has  a  small  piece 
of  ground,  biij'  this  poisonous  stuff?  The  native  mustard  seed,  ground  in  a 
little  mustard  mill,  is  what  he  ought  to  use.  He  will  have  bran  and  all,  and  it 
■will  not  look  yellow  like  most  ot  the  imported — but  we  do  not  object  to  rye- 
bread  on  account  of  its  colour.  Ten  pounds  of  seed  will  grow  upon  a  perch  of 
ground — and  ten  pounds  of  mustard  is  more  than  a  family  will  consume  in  a 
)-ear.  The  plants  do  not  occupy  the  ground  more  than  fourteen  weeks,  and 
may  be  followed  by  another  crop  of  any  plant,  and  even  of  mustard  if  you  like. 
This,  therefore,  is  a  very  useful  plant,  and  ought  to  be  cultivated  by  farmers, 
and  by  every  man  M'ho  has  a  garden. — Coebett. 

Several  species  of  plants  are  cultivated  chiefly  for  the  aro- 
matic flavour  of  their  seeds.  Of  these.  Coriander  and  Caraway 
may  be  mentioned  in  this  place, 

THE  CORIANDER.  "* 

The  Coriander,  Coriandrum  sativum,  is  a  small  rooted 
annual  plant,  with  branchy  steins,  rising  from  twelve  to  eigh- 
teen inches  in  height.  It  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the 
south  of  Europe;  but  it  is  now  naturalized  in  some  parts  of 
the  United  States.  Its  leaves  and  seed-vessels  are  strongly 
scented.  Its  seeds,  which  have  a  strong  aromatic  taste,  are  ex- 
tensively used  by  druggists  and  by  confectioners,  and  by  many 
persons  as  seasoning  for  soups,  &c.  It  may  be  sown  broadcast 
or  in  rows;  the  latter  method  we  should  prefer.  If  sown  in 
spring  on  a  light  rich  soil,  it  will  ripen  its  seeds  the  same  year: 
but  the  common  practice  in  Europe  is  to  sow  in  September, 
39* 


462  PLANTS  CULTIVATED  FOR  THEIR  USES 

when  it  is  ready  to  gather  early  in  the  following  autumn. 
Twenty  pounds  of  seed  are  sufficient  for  an  acre.  When  the 
plants  come  up  thin  them,  so  that  they  will  stand  five  or  six 
inches  distance  from  each  other  in  the  drills,  and  the  drills 
should  be  a  foot  apart.  Stir  the  soil  with  a  pronged  hoe.  The 
plants  may  be  cut  by  women  or  children,  as  it  is  very  light 
work.  Each  operator  should  be  provided  with  a  bag  into 
which  the  plant  is  to  be  put  as  soon  as  cut,  to  prevent  waste  of 
seed,  and  thus  carried  to  a  convenient  place  of  deposite. 

CARAWAY. 

The  Caraway,  Carum  cariii,  is  of  the  same  class  of  plants 
as  the  coriander,  with  respect  to  its  uses;  but  it  is  a  biennial 
plant,  and  is  frequently,  in  those  countries  where  it  is  ex- 
tensively cultivated,  sown  with  grain;  the  grain  being  reaped 
the  first  year,  and  the  caraway  the  second.  It  has  a  taper 
root  like  a  parsnep,  but  much  smaller,  and  running  deep  into 
the  ground.  The  stems  rise  from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet, 
with  spreading  branches  and  finely  cut  deep  green  leaves.  The 
seeds  of  the  caraway  are  imported  in  large  quantities  from  Hol- 
land and  other  foreign  parts;  for  this  there  is  no  necessity 
whatever,  as  it  is  adapted  to  our  climate  and  admits  of  easy 
culture.  The  yield  of  seed  on  an  acre  of  very  rich  old  ley 
frequently  exceeds  a  ton. 

THE  SMOOTH  LIQUORICE. 

The  Liquorice,  Ghjcyrrhiza  glabra,  is  a  leguminous  plant, 
the  roots  of  which  yield  a  sweet  and  mucilaginous  substance, 
which  is  employed  for  medicine  and  various  other  purposes. 
For  centuries  past  it  has  been  cultivated  in  Spain,  and  success- 
fully in  some  parts  of  England,  since  the  reign  of  Elizabeth. 
As  liquorice  is  in  great  demand,  its  culture  might  be  profitably 
introduced  among  us.  It  requires  a  light  soil,  deeply  dug,  and 
well  prepared.  Loudon  says,  "the  soil  should  be  a  deep 
sandy  loam,  trenched  by  the  spade  or  plough,  or  by  the  aid  of 
both,  to'two  feet  and  a  half  or  three  in  depth,  and  manured 
if  necessary."  The  plants  are  cultivated  from  sets,  in  rows, 
three  feet  distant.  Tiiey  are  tilled  by  the  cultivator  and  hand- 
hoe,  and  after  three  summers'  growth  the  roots  are  taken  up 
for  use.  The  extract  from  the  root  (sold  in  the  shops)  is 
usually  imported  from  Spain  in  rolls  or  cakes. 

LAVENDER. 

Lavender,  Lavandula  spica,  is  a  dwarf  odoriferous  shrub, 


IN  DOMESTIC  ECONOMY  AND  THE  ARTS.  453 

cultivated  chiefly  for  the  odour  of  its  flowers,  which  is  obtain- 
ed by  distillation.  It  yields  an  oil,  which  is  employed  in  some 
of  the  arts.  It  is  a  perennial  plant  and  easily  cultivated.  It 
may  be  propagated  from  seed;  but  slips  taken  oflfin  the  spring, 
and  planted  in  good  moist  ground  in  the  shade,  are  generally 
preferred  by  cultivators.  When  planted  out,  it  should  be  in 
rows,  three  feet  apart,  and  two  feet  distant  in  the  rows,  and 
kept  free  of  weeds.  If  seed  be  used,  sow  in  a  garden  in  spring, 
and  the  plants  may  be  transplanted  in  the  following  fall  or 
spring.  In  the  second  season  they  will  yield  a  few  flowers — 
the  fourth  year  a  full  crop — after  which  they  will  continue 
productive  from  five  to  seven  years. 

Various  other  species  of  the  mint  family,  as  Sage,  Mar- 
joram, Thyme,  Worjnwood,  Savory,  and  Peppermint,  valued 
on  account  of  their  tonic  or  aromatic  properties,  are  culti- 
vated in  the  same  manner  and  for  similar  purposes.  Being 
usually  smaller  plants  they  should  be  planted  closer;  but  to 
have  much  flavour,  the  soil  must  be  dry  and  calcareous.  The 
mints  are  in  general  creeping  rooted  perennials. 

CHAMOMILE. 

Chamomile,  t/inthemis  nohilis,  familiar  to  all  as  a  medicinal 
herb  of  great  value,  is  a  creeping  perennial.  It  only  requires 
to  be  planted  on  a  poor  soil.  It  may  be  propagated  from  seeds; 
but  the  parting  of  the  roots  is  considered  the  best  method.  The 
flowers  are  used  in  medicine,  and  find  mostly  a  ready  sale  in 
the  shops.  They  should  be  gathered  before  they  begin  to 
fade,  and  dried  in  a  gentle  sun  or  in  the  sbade,  and  then  put 
by  in  paper  bags,  in  a  dry  place,  for  use  or  for  sale. 


464 


WEEDS  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  plants  described  in  the  preceding  pages  are  those  which 
form  the  subject  of  general  cultivation.  The  weeds  of  agri- 
culture are  those  which  grow  amongst  the  cultivated  plants, 
and  which  it  is  the  province  and  the  duty  of  the  farmer  to 
destroy,  and  if  possible  to  exterminate.  The  prevailing  plants 
of  this  class  vary  in  every  country,  and  in  different  parts  of 
the  same  country;  and,  indeed,  the  same  observation  may 
apply  to  the  different  counties. — Low. 

Weeds  may  be  divided  into  two  separate  or  general  classes 
— those  which  propagate  themselves  by  their  seeds,  and  which, 
having  once  flowered,  perish — and  those  which  have  perennial 
roots,  and  flower  and  bear  seeds  for  successive  years,  like  that 
vile  pest,  the  Canada  thistle.  The  first  are  annual  or  biennial, 
according  as  they  require  one  or  two  years  to  complete  the 
period  of  their  vegetation.  The  second  are  perennial  plants, 
and  grow  again  from  the  roots,  as  well  as  propagate  themselves 
from  their  seeds. — Ih. 

In  the  case  of  annual  or  biennial  weeds,  if  the  stem  is  de- 
stroyed at  the  time  of  flowering,  or  just  before  it,  the  individual 
is  destroyed,  and  its  further  means  to  propagate  the  species  are 
taken  away;  but  in  the  case  of  perennial  weeds,  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  stem  does  not  infer  the  destruction  of  the  plant, 
because  the  plant  has  the  power  of  propagation  from  the  roots. 
From  this  distinction  it  would  seem  more  easy  to  destroy  an- 
nual than  perennial  weeds;  yet  this  conclusion  does  not  ahvaj^s 
hold,  for  some  of  the  annual  species  have  such  numerous 
minute  seeds,  that  it  is  often  very  difficult  to  extirpate  them; 
and  when  they  have  got  into  ground,  keep  possession,  even 
more  inveterately  than  those  which  have  the  power  of  spring- 
ing again  from  their  roots. — lb. 

Of  the  perennial  weeds,  greatly  the  most  troublesome  are 
those  which  have  creeping  roots;  for  these  extend  themselves 
below  ground,  and,  if  any  of  the  parts  of  the  roots  remain, 
those  may  give  birth  to  new  plants.  Either  class  of  weeds 
mav  be  frequently  destroyed  by  the  same  means,  namely,  by 
assiduous  tillage  of  the  ground. — lb. 


465 


XX.— ORCHARDS. 

The  formation  of  orchards,  says  Lawson,  are  to  be  consi- 
dered among  the  permanent  improvements  of  a  farm,  and  should 
be  kept  in  view  in  its  first  arrangement  and  laying  out.  In- 
deed, no  farm  can  be  considered  as  complete  without  an  or- 
chard. An  orchard  should  be  of  moderate  size,  that  is,  propor- 
tioned to  the  size  of  the  estate — the  objects  to  which  its  pro- 
duce is  to  be  applied,  &c.  The  planting  and  care  of  orchards 
has  been  too  much  neglected  in  our  country,  which,  from  its 
climate,  soil,  &c.  is  admirably  adapted  for  all  varieties.  Or- 
chards may  be  considered  in  reference  to  soil  and  situation,  the 
kinds  of  trees,  planting,  culture,  and  the  manufacture  and  dis- 
posal of  the  products.  The  Farmer's  Assistant  says  that  the 
most  suitable  soil,  for  almost  every  kind  of  tree  grown  in  the 
orchard,  is  that  which  is  warm,  dry,  and  fertile.  Even  light 
sandy  lands  are  better  for  the  purpose  than  stiff  clays.  It  is 
most  advisable  to  make  use  of  hilly  or  uneven  grounds,  if  the 
soil  be  suitable,  and  let  those  that  are  level  be  reserved  for  the 
plough. 

The  following  excellent  article,  which  appears  to  have  been 
prepared  by  the  Editor  of  the  Practical  Farmer  from  the  very 
best  authorities,  we  take  much  pleasure  in  incorporating  in  this 
volume,  as  affording  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  information  necessary 
on  a  subject  of  great  interest. 

The  most  desirable  aspect,  is  unquestionably  a  somewhat 
elevated  and  naturally  sheltered  declivity,  open  to  the  south  and 
south-east.  But  orchards  are  now  found  "in  every  aspect,  and 
on  soil  of  every  quality,  and  under  every  culture."  Although 
the  most  approved  site  is  that  which  is  open  to  the  south-east, 
and  sheltered  in  other  points,  but  particularly  that  opposite,  yet 
much  depends  upon  the  character  of  the  winds  of  a  country. 
When  the  violence  of  a  west  wind  is  broken  by  an  intervening 
rise  of  ground,  a  south-west  aspect  has  been  found  equal  to 
any. 

Planting  and  cultivation. — The  first  thing  to  be  deter- 
mined upon,  in  the  planting  of  an  orchard,  is  the  proper  dis- 
tance of  the  trees;  if  a  mere  fruit  plantation  be  the  object,  the 
distance  may  be  small;  if  the  cultivation  of  grain  and  grass  be 
in  view,  the  space  between  the  trees  must  be  wider;  at  thirty 
feet  apart,  an  acre  will  contain  forty-eight  trees;  at  thirty-five 


466  ORCHARDS. 

feetj  thirty-five  trees;  at  forty  feet,  twenty-seven  trees;  and  at 
fift}- feet, about  eighteen  to  the  acre:  these  are  the  usual  distances, 
which  may  be  adopted  according  to  the  character  and  depth  of 
the  soil.  As  far  as  can  conveniently  be  done,  trees  of  the 
smallest  growth  may  be  planted  on  the  lightest  soil;  and  taking 
every  circumstance  into  consideration,  it  will  probably  be  found 
that  forty  feet  is  the  most  eligible  distance  for  a  farm  orchard. 
It  will  admit  sufficient  sun  and  air,  in  our  dry  and  warm  cli- 
mate; and  until  the  trees  shall  be  fully  grown,  will  allow  of  a 
profitable  application  of  the  ground  to  the  cultivation  of  grain 
and  grasses. 

Planner  and  time,  of  planting. — Much  trouble  will  be  saved, 
and  much  accuracy  in  planting  insured,  by  marking  the  sites  of 
trees  by  stakes,  previous  to  digging  the  holes.  In  shallow  soils, 
the  holes  may  be  made  to  the  depth  of  two  spits  of  earth,  scat- 
tering the  lower  spit  at  some  distance,  and  supplying  its  place 
by  an  equal  quantity  of  the  neighbouring  surface  earth.  The 
depth  of  the  hole  must  depend  on  that  of  the  subsoil. 

An  eligible  mode  for  the  lighter  soils,  which  has  been  prac- 
tised with  much  success,  is  to  supply  the  place  of  the  stratum 
of  poor  earth  by  one  or  two  loads  of  meadow  mud,  ditch  banks, 
or  good  surface  soil,  laid  round  each  tree  after  planting,  and 
ploughing  the  ground  for  a  fallow  crop  the  next  spring,  when 
the  mud  has  become  completely  pulverized  by  the  frost.  The 
size  of  the  hole  should  be  sufficient  to  admit  a  spade  handle 
when  laid  horizontally  in  the  bottom,  affording  ample  room  for 
the  expansion  of  the  roots  in  loose  rich  earth.  Well  digested 
compost  is  useful  round  newly  planted  trees,  in  stiff  or  cold 
soils.  Both  lime  and  fresh  stable  manure  have  been  found 
prejudicial  in  the  dry  and  hot  weather  of  summer.  The  latter 
substance  is  too  frequently  a  cover  for  moles  and  field  mice, 
which  are  extremely  injurious  in  winter  to  trees  of  even  six  or 
eight  years  old,  in  light  soils.  Every  kind  of  manure  on  the 
surface,  gradually  mixing  it  with  the  soil  by  cultivation,  has 
been  found  beneficial,  and  the  best  security  against  drought  in 
summer  and  vermin  in  winter. 

T/ie  proper  seaso7i /or  planting  will  be  found  to  depend  on 
a  variety  of  circumstances.  In  light  soils,  the  winter  settles 
the  earth  round  the  roots,  and  best  secures  them  against  the 
drou2,ht  the  following  season.  It  is  a  time  of  leisure  to  the 
farmer,  and  affords  an  early  selection  of  trees  from  the  nursery. 
In  stifi'or  wet  soils,  spring  planting,  other  circumstances  being 
equal,  is  to  be  preferred.  But  where  proper  care  and  attention 
is  bestowed,  success  may  follow  in  both  cases.  In  whatever 
season  an  orchard  may  be  planted,  too  much  attention  cannot 
be  given  to  extend  the  roots  in  every  direction;  to  cut  off  all 


ORCHARDS.  457 

wounded  parts,  and  more  especially  not  to  plant  too  deep.  This 
is  the  common  error  of  inexperienced  planters.  As  a  general 
rule,  trees  should  be  planted  in  tlie  orchard  with  about  three 
inches  of  earth  over  the  upper  tier  of  roots,  which  will  make 
it  about  two  inches  dee])er  tlian  it  stood  in  the  nursery.  The 
trees  after  being  partially  covered,  should  be  well  shaken,  to 
admit  the  finer  particles  of  earth  among  the  fibrous  roots,  and 
be  well  settled  by  treading  the  earth  around  it. 

The  tops  of  young  trees  should  never  be  shortened,  lest  it 
produce  a  growth  of  suckers.  They  may  be  thinned  if  found 
too  heavy.  If  the  trees  have  been  long  out  of  ground,  and  the 
roots  have  become  shrivelled  at  the  time  of  planting,  the  labour 
of  pouring  a  pailful  of  water  round  each  tree,  will  be  amply 
repaid  in  the  success  it  will  insure  in  their  growth. 

Cultivation  of  the  ground. — The  looser  the  ground  is  kept 
for  the  first,  and  indeed  for  several  succeeding  years,  the  more 
certain  and  more  vigorous  will  be  the  growth  of  the  orchard. 
Every  stage  of  cultivation  is  strongly  marked  in  the  luxuriance 
and  colour  of  the  foliage  of  contiguous  plantations.  Those  or- 
chards which  have  been  two  years  under  cultivation,  exhibit  a 
striking  superiority  over  those  which  have  been  but  one  year 
under  the  plough;  while  these  in  their  turn  surpass  the  fields 
in  clover  or  in  grain,  both  in  the  quantity  and  size  of  the  fruit. 
When  clover  is  sown  in  young  orchards,  it  will  be  well  to  dig 
the  earth  for  about  three  feet,  at  the  root  of  each  tree.  A  man 
will  dig  round  100  trees  in  a  day;  the  trifling  loss  of  grass  and 
labour  will  be  fully  remunerated  by  the  improved  vigour  of  the 
tree.  When  the  ground  can  be  spared  from  cropping,  four  or 
five  furrows  on  each  side  of  a  row  will  be  found  a  most  eligible 
mode  of  promoting  the  growth  of  a  young  orchard. 

All  fallow  crops  are  most  favourable  to  the  growth  of  or- 
chards, at  every  early  stage  of  their  cultivation.  Indian  corn, 
potatoes,  and  vines,  are  preferable  to  oats  or  barley;  and  these 
again  are  more  favourable  than  winter  grain.  Buckwheat  is 
among  the  most  beneficial  crops  for  the  promotion  of  the  au- 
tumnal growth  of  trees.  Clover  is  by  many  farmers  believed 
to  be  injurious  to  j'oung  trees.  Its  tendency  to  check  the 
growth  of  trees,  will  be  found  to  be  in  proportion  to  the  air 
and  moisture,  which  its  greater  or  less  vigorous  growth  may 
keep  from  the  roots.  Light  and  heat  appear  to  be  as  necessary 
to  the  roots,  as  to  the  branches  of  trees.  Clover,  while  it  oc- 
cupies the  ground,  must  prevent  cultivation,  and  may  so  far  be 
found  pernicious,  but  probably  not  in  a  greater  degree,  than 
any  other  luxuriant  and  deeply  rooted  grass,  absorbing  the 
moisture,  and  exhausting  the  strength  of  the  soil,  which  covers 
the  roots  of  small  trees. 


468  ORCHARDS. 

In  the  arrangement  of  an  orchard,  both  convenience  and 
beauty  will  result  from  planting  each  kind  of  trees  in  distinct 
contiguous  rows.  Some  cultivators  pay  particular  attention  to 
continue  in  the  orchard  the  aspect  the  tree  maintained  in  the 
nursery.  Mr.  Coxe  says,  I  have  sometimes  adopted  the  prac- 
tice, without  much  confidence  in  its  efficacy;  nor  can  I  think 
it  probable  that  trees  growing  in  close  rows  in  the  nursery,  not 
much  exposed,  can  by  any  habit  so  limited  in  its  duration,  be 
affected  by  any  permanent  contraction  or  rigidity  of  the  bark 
or  sap  vessels,  which  are  the  only  effects  I  have  ever  ascribed 
to  the  influence  of  aspect  on  the  stems  of  young  trees. 

The  prevalent  winds  of  our  climate  are  from  north-west.  In 
light  soils  their  violence  will  sometimes  give  an  inclination  to 
newly  planted  trees  to  the  south-east.  This  may  easily  be 
remedied  by  setting  up  the  trees  while  young,  and  when  they 
have  attained  a  large  growth,  it  may  be  overcome  in  a  great 
degree  by  cutting  off  the  leaning  branches,  and  by  freely 
pruning  the  leeward  side  of  the  tree.  But  this  may  be  pre- 
vented in  the  beginning  by  fixing  short  poles  or  stakes,  and 
tying  the  tree  to  them. 

Moss  is  a  plant  produced  by  poverty  and  neglect;  it  is  very 
prejudicial  to  trees,  and  should  be  carefully  removed.  This 
can  be  readily  done  by  rubbing  the  trees  in  damp  weather 
with  a  bone  or  the  back  of  a  knife.  A  good  cultivator  will 
generally  prevent  the  growth  of  moss.  Whitewashing  the 
stem  not  only  cleanses  the  tree  of  moss,  but  destroys  many 
kinds  of  lice  injurious  to  fruit  trees.  It  is  followed  by  a  clean- 
liness in  the  bark,  after  it  has  been  dissolved  by  the  rain,  and 
promotes  the  health  and  vigour  of  the  tree  whenever  applied. 

The  Nursery. — It  has  been  said,  and  we  think  with  much 
good  sense,  that  "every  farmer  ought  to  raise  his  own  trees," 
because,  besides  the  risk,  inconvenience,  and  expense  of  bring- 
ing our  plants  from  abroad,  we  have,  in  pursuing  that  mode  of 
supply,  to  encounter  the  mistakes  and  the  ill  consequences 
which  follow  a  want  of  analogy  between  the  soil  in  which  the 
plants  were  raised,  and  that  to  which  they  are  to  be  transferred. 
The  first  step,  therefore,  towards  obtaining  a  good  orchard,  is 
to  create  a  good  nursery.  The  situation  most  favourable  for 
this,  is  a  piece  of  level  ground,  defended  from  cold  and  violent 
winds  either  by  natural  or  artificial  means,  and  which  in  com- 
position is  neither  wet  nor  dry,  and  of  only  middling  fertility. 
This  condition  of  the  soil  is  a  circumstance  of  much  importance, 
and  ought  to  be  rigorously  observed;  because  the  vessels  of 
young  trees,  growing  in  rich  soils,  take  a  size  proportioned  to 
the  quantity  of  sap  they  receive  and  circulate,  and  if  their  situa- 
tion be  changed  for  the  worse,  the  quantity  of  the  sap  being 


ORCHARDS.  469 

necessarily  diminished,  the  vessels  become  rigid  and  unhealthy, 
and  unable  to  carry  to  the  extremity  of  the  branches  the  nour- 
ishment required  by  them.  The  ground  (selected  on  these 
principles)  must  be  securely  fenced,  thoroughly  ploughed  and 
harrowed,  freed  from  stones  and  the  roots  of  perennial  plants, 
and  then  thrown  up  into  three  or  four  feet  ridges,  on  which 
you  will  sow  and  cover  your  apple  and  pear  seed,  and  plant 
your  cherry  and  peach  stones.  It  will  now  be  useful  to  roll 
the  beds,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  soil  and  the  seeds 
every  where  into  contact;  after  which  they  may  be  covered 
with  clean  straw  for  the  winter.  In  the  spring,  your  young 
apple  and  pear  trees  will  show  themselves,  and  after  them  your 
cherries  and  peaches.  The  treatment  to  all  will  be  the  same: 
they  must  be  thinned  to  the  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty  inches 
from  each  other,  kept  perfectly  free  from  weeds,  and  if  the 
weather  be  hot  or  dry,  occasionall)'^  watered.  They  require 
only  a  repetition  of  this  process,  with  the  addition  of  a  little 
careful  pruning,  till  they  have  attained  the  height  of  seven  or 
eight  feet,  when  they  are  fit  for  grafting.  It  is  generally  known 
that  by  this  operation  we  continue  any  given  species  of  fruit; 
but  a  fact  with  which  the  public  is  less  acquainted  is,  that  if  the 
graft  be  also  grafted,  the  product  is  improved  in  quantity  and 
quality;  and  it  is  to  be  presumed,  will  continue  to  improve, 
under  every  new  and  similar  operation.  Grafts  to  be  well 
chosen,  should  be  taken  from  the  wood  of  the  present  year, 
from  young  and  healthy  races,  and  accommodated  to  the  future 
use  of  the  fruit.  As  we  but  speak  of  grafting  in  this  place  in- 
cidentally, it  will  not  be  expected  that  we  should  go  into  a  dis- 
sertation upon  that  art,  nor  to  elucidate  the  many  divisions  and 
subdivisions,  which  technical  men  have  made  of  it.  It  is 
enough  for  us  to  say,  that  of  all  these  different  modes  the  scion 
and  the  slit  is  the  simplest  and  the  best.  When  your  grafts  have 
acquired  some  inches  in  length,  it  may  be  well  to  rub  off  all  the 
buds  which  have  pushed  below  them  on  the  stem,  and  perhaps 
a  few  of  those  which  have  appeared  above  them;  and  if  the 
grafts  themselves  put  out  any  lateral  shoots,  spare  them  until 
the  succeeding  year,  when  you  are  called  to  re-graft  such  as 
have  failed,  and  to  furnish  props  to  those  which  are  feeble,  or 
crooked,  or  ill-directed. 

The  year  after  planting,  and  in  the  month  of  February,  when 
there  is  no  circulation  of  sap,  you  will  do  well  to  begin  to  give 
the  heads  of  your  young  trees  that  form  which  you  wish  them 
ultimately  to  take.  The  more  circular  you  make  them  the  bet- 
ter, always  taking  care  to  lop  off  those  branches  which  do  al- 
ready or  may  hereafter,  cross  others  having  a  proper  direction. 
This  proper  direction  will  be  generally  horizontal,  but  with  a 
40 


470  ORCHARDS. 

slight  curve;  an  opinion  requiring  perhaps  a  little  explanation. 
All  straight  branches  produce  what  are  usually  termed  gour- 
mands, or  gluttons,  giving  little  if  any  fruit  themselves,  and  ex- 
ceedingly exhausting  to  the  tree.  Curved  branches  on  the  other 
hand,  rarely  produce  gourmands;  and  when  the  season  is  fa- 
vourable, give  much  fruit.  The  observation  of  these  facts,  made 
long  since,  and  probably  growing  out  of  the  management  of 
espaliers,  first  suggested  the  practice  of  bending  straight 
branches  by  artificial  means.  The  effect  entirely  justified  the 
theory:  these  straight  and  barren  branches,  bent  into  nearly 
half  a  circle,  changed  their  character  with  their  shape,  and  be- 
came very  productive.  But  there  is  a  time  for  this,  as  for  all 
other  things,  and  unless  the  experiment  be  begun  about  the  first 
of  July,  and  continued  to  September,  it  will  fail;  because  it  is 
only  within  that  period  that  fruit  buds  are  formed. 

As  your  trees  advance  in  age  they  will  require  prunins^. 
Suckers  must  be  removed,  and  dead  and  dying  limbs  taken  off. 
For  this  purpose  a  hand-saw,  a  chisel,  a  mallet,  and  a  gardener's 
knife  are  the  instruments  to  be  used;  all  others  must  be  pro- 
scribed, and  particularly  the  axe,  which,  in  the  hands  of  folly 
and  ignorance,  has  been  so  mischievous  to  fruit  trees.  Wounds, 
if  large,  should  always  be  covered  from  drying  winds,  from 
moisture,  and  even  from  air.  In  gummy  trees,  as  the  peach 
or  the  cherry,  this  precaution  is  indispensable,  and  the  neglect 
of  it  a  disgrace,  since  the  best  covering  is  that  composed  by 
cow  dung  and  clay — materials  costing  nothing  and  always  at 
hand. 

On  this  subject  one  other  rule  may  be  given,  and  that  is  to 
open  the  ground  about  the  roots  of  the  trees  in  the  fall,  to  the 
influences  of  the  air,  rain,  and  frost.  The  last  of  these  besides 
promoting  vegetation,  destroys  many  insects  in  the  chrysalis 
state,  which,  if  left  undisturbed,  would  in  the  spring  be  very 
injurious.  Another  part  of  the  same  rule  is  to  cover  with 
straw  in  the  spring  the  ground  you  make  bare  in  the  fall;  the 
object  of  which  is  to  prevent  evaporation  by  interrupting  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  and  thus  securing  to  the  roots  the  moisture 
necessary  to  their  welfare. 

Grafting  and  Inoculating. — Grafting  is  a  mode  of  propa- 
gating varieties  of  fruit  of  esteemed  quality.  Grafts  may  be 
cut  at  any  time  after  the  fall  of  the  leaf  in  autumn,  and  before 
the  buds  begin  to  swell  in  the  spring.  They  should  be  of  the 
preceding  year's  growth,  and  are  best  from  bearing  trees  and 
exterior  limbs.  They  may  be  preserved  by  imbedding  their 
larger  ends  in  clay,  a  potato,  or  in  moist  earth,  in  a  cellar  in 
winter,  or  in  the  open  ground,  partially  or  wholly  covered,  in 
the  spring. — Grafts  are  frequently  sent  across  the  Atlantic. 


ORCHARDS.  471 

The  great  care  should  be,  that  they  are  not  kept  too  warm  or  too 
moist,  so  that  the  buds  swell  before  they  are  wanted  for  use. 
The  rationale  of  grafting  will  suggest  the  time  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  should  be  done.     The  scion  and  graft  are  to  be  so 
adjusted  that  the  sap  wood  of  the  stock,  by  which  the  sap  as- 
cends from  the  roots,  comes  in  contact  with  the  sap  wood  of 
the  scion;  and  a  like  adjustment  must  be  observed  between 
the  inner  bark  of  both  through  which  the  sap  descends  from 
the  graft  to  the  stock,  after  it  has  been  elaborated  in  the  leaves. 
Without  the  first  precaution,  the  sap  will  not  reach  the  graft, 
which  will  consequently  shrivel  and  die.      Without  the  last, 
the  graft  cannot  knit  or  unite  to  the  stock;  for  it  is  the  de- 
scending sap  which  forms  the  new  wood,  and  which  indeed 
causes  the  graft  to  send  its  roots  down  into  the  earth,  upon  the 
outside  of  the  wood,  but  under  the  bark  of  the  stock.     The 
union  can  only  take  place  after  the  sap  has  begun  to  circulate 
in  the  stock,  which  is  when  the  buds  are  bursting.      The  clay 
or  composition  is  applied  to  exclude  the  drying  influence  of 
the  air  and  sun,  and  also  rain,  from  the  wound,  until  a  complete 
union  has  taken  place.     The  graft  does  not  become  injured  by 
being  somewhat  shrivelled  before  it  is  inserted;  but  if  it  ap- 
pears too  much  so,  it  may  be  buried  a  few  hours  in  moist  earth 
before  used.     The  compositions  used  as  substitutes  for  clay  are 
many.      A  good  one  is,  one  part  tallow,  two   parts  beeswax, 
and  four  parts  rosin,  melted  and  incorporated  like  shoemaker's 
wax.     If  the  weather  is  cold  this  will  require  to  be  softened 
by  immersing  it  a  time  in  warm  water.     A  thin  layer  of  this, 
covering  the  end  of  the  stock  and  the  slit,  will  suffice.     With 
the  addition  of  a  little  more  tallow,  the  composition  may  be 
spread  upon  linen  or  cotton  cloth,  when  warm,  and  the  cloth 
cut  to  tlie  required  size  for  a  graft,  and  applied  with  less  trou- 
ble in  the  form  of  a  prepared  plaster.     The  different  processes 
of  grafting  are   so   generally  linown,  that  we   need  not  detail 
them:  our  object  being  only  to  throw  out  such  suggestions  as 
may  tend  to  render  the  success  of  operation  more  certain. 

Transplanting. — Success  in  transplanting  trees  depends 
much  on  the  treatment  they  receive  in  that  operation.  On  re- 
moving the  trees  from  the  nursery,  care  should  be  taken  to 
prevent  the  roots  from  lying  previously  to  planting  them, 
otherwise  they  may  receive  considerable  injury;  and  when 
they  are  to  be  transported  to  a  distance,  particular  care  should 
be  taken  to  preserve  them  from  drying  winds  before  packing. 
Immediately  on  their  receipt  the  bundles  should  be  unpacked, 
the  roots  well  watered  and  ''laid  in"  until  the  ground  in  which 
they  are  to  be  planted  be  ready  to  receive  them.  By  laying 
in,  is  to  be  understood  the  making  of  a  trench  sufficiently  large 


472  ORCHARDS. 

to  admit  the  roots,  into  which  they  are  placed;  the  earth  having 
been  previously  made  fine  is  then  filled  in  around  them,  and  a 
gentle  watering  given,  in  which  situation  they  may  remain 
with  safety,  until  planted. 

The  holes  in  which  it  is  intended  to  plant  them,  should,  for 
an  ordinary  sized  nursery  tree,  be  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
feet  in  diameter,  and  about  the  same  depth;  the  earth  from  the 
bottom  should  be  thrown  aside,  and  the  place  filled  up  with 
good  compost  or  black  mould  (no  fresh  stable  manure  should 
be  used  in  the  compost).  The  tree  should  be  planted  one  or 
two  inches  deeper  than  it  stood  in  the  nursery,  the  roots  and 
fibres  being  spread  out  horizontally,  and  during  the  process  of 
filling  in  the  earth,  the  tree  should  be  shaken  several  times,  so 
as  to  admit  the  soil  between  the  roots,  and  also  to  fill  up  any 
cavities  that  might  otherwise  remain.  The  earth  should  then 
be  trodden  down  and  gently  watered;  in  a  short  time  it  will 
have  settled,  and  any  hollows  that  may  have  formed,  should  be 
filled  up — finishing  by  forming  a  basin  around  the  trench  to 
receive  the  rain  or  watering  which  may  be  necessary  to  give 
it,  if  the  ensuing  season  should  prove  dry;  to  prevent  the  winds 
from  loosening  the  earth  round  the  roots,  the  tree  should  be 
secured  to  a  stake  by  bands  of  straw. 

The  proper  season  for  transplanting  trees  in  this  latitude,  is 
from  the  middle  of  October  to  the  first  or  middle  of  May. 
Trees  transplanted  in  autumn  should  have  the  roots  a  little 
protected  during  the  first  and  most  trying  winter.  This  pro- 
tection may  consist  of  a  few  inches  of  litter  from  the  stable, 
placed  among  their  trunks  and  over  their  r.oots.  JNIoss  from 
the  meadows  or  evergreen  boughs  are,  however,  preferable 
for  delicate  plants,  as  these  substances  being  alm.ost  incorrupti- 
ble, never  injure  what  they  were  designed  to  protect. 

"We  have  observed,"  says  the  Genesee  Farmer,  "in  regard 
to  transplanting  fruit  trees,  that  we  have  rarely  lost  one  that 
stood  in  cultivated  ground,  where  the  hoe  was  introduced 
several  times  in  the  course  of  the  summer;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
where  the  trees  were  set  in  grassy  land,  or  where  the  cultiva- 
tion was  neglected,  our  losses  have  been  considerable.  We 
therefore  advise  in  order  to  insure  the  safety  of  such  as  have 
been  planted  out,  either  in  the  last  autumn  or  this  spring,  to 
have  the  ground  well  hoed  round  them  once  a  month;  and  if 
it  be  done  every  fortnight,  it  will  be  still  better.  The  labour 
will  not  difier  very  materially  from  hoeing  a  hill  of  corn.  It 
is  worthy  of  notice,  however,  that  the  oftener  it  is  done  the 
easier  it  is  to  do — because  the  soil  will  be  kept  loose  and  mel- 
low. 

"'To  water  trees  in  that  condition  may  sometimes  be  useful; 


ORCHARDS.  473 

but  we  are  not  free  to  recommend  it  very  highly.  A  loamy 
soil  that  is  much  watered  soon  becomes  hard;  the  surface  is 
glazed,  rendered  in  a  great  measure  impermeable  to  the  air, 
and  consequently  is  no  longer  capable  of  afifording  in  dry 
weather  the  necessary  nourishment  to  the  plant.  The  sources 
of  its  fertility  are  obstructed.  This  may  be  better  understood 
to  some  of  our  readers,  when  we  state  on  the  authority  of  Sir 
Humphrey"  Davy,  that  a  soil  in  the  greatest  degree  absorbent, 
exposed  to  the  atmosphere  till  it  becomes  dry  to  the  touch, 
still  contains  moisture  equal  to  one-eighth  part  of  its  whole 
weight.  This  is  discoverable  by  subjecting  it  to  a  heat  indi- 
cated by  300  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer.  Now  all 
water  not  chemically  combined,  but  only  adhering  to  parts  of 
the  soil,  is  in  constant  use  in  vegetation:  and  the  one-eighth 
part  referred  to  is  of  this  kind.  If  we  estimate  common  fer- 
tile soils,  however,  as  containing  only  one-twelfth  part,  then 
in  400  pounds  of  soil,  even- when  it  is  dry  to  the  touch,  we 
shall  have  33  pounds  of  water  in  store  for  the  use  of  vegeta- 
tion; and  it  is  particularly  worthy  of  notice,  that  such  soils 
when  deprived  of  a  portion  of  this  by  plants,  procure  a  fresh 
supply  by  constantly  absorbing  water  from  the  aimospherey 
where  it  exists  in  the  state  of  vapour.  In  effect,  a  good  soil 
is  a  perpetual  fountain,  even  in  dry  weather. 

"From  these  statements  it  must  be  evident,  that  unless  the 
ground  is  frequently  cultivated  and  kept  mellow,  so  that  be- 
tween its  particles  the  air  can  pass  in,  the  latter  cannot  impart 
the  moisture  which  it  holds  in  solution;  but  when  the  soil  is 
freshly  broken,  minutely  divided,  and  prevented  from  con- 
glomerating, these  invisible  springs  are  preserved  in  order,  and 
plants  that  drink  from  them  will  long  resist  the  drought.  Let 
the  hoe  then,  be  freely  and  frequently  used." 

Pruning. — The  principal  objects  of  pruning,  are  to  procure 
a  good  bole  or  trunk  for  timber,  to  form  a  head  for  the  protec- 
tion of  fruit,  and  to  subserve  the  purpose  of  ornament. 

To  effect  these  objects  with  the  least  trouble  and  greatest  ad- 
vantage, upon  all  non-resinous  trees,  the  following  rules  are 
recommended  by  Judge  Buel. 

1.  Begin  to  prune  the  tree  when  it  is  young. 

2.  Cut  close  and  smooth  to  the  bole  or  limb. 

3.  Cut,  when  small,  the  branches  which  are  likely  to  inter- 
fere, or  become  useless,  and  which,  if  suffered  to  remain,  will 
require  to  be  removed  at  a  more  advanced  period  of  growth. 

4.  Do  not  trim  to  excess.  Let  the  branches  occupy  at  least 
a  third  of  the  entire  height  of  a  tree. 

5.  Do  not  prune  when  the  tree  bleeds.  Where  the  preced- 
ing suggestions  are  observed,  we  may  add — 

40* 


474  ORCHARDS. 

6.  Prune  in  the  summer. 

He  then  proceeds  to  offer  his  reasons  for  the  rules  here  re- 
commended: 

First,  The  food  required  to  nourish  the  lateral  useless  branches,  -n-ill  go  to 
increase  the  diameter  and  height  of  the  plant,  or  swell  the  fruit,  if  these  are 
judiciously  removed.  But  a  main  consideration  is,  that  the  excision  of  small 
branches  causes  only  small  wounds,  and  small  wounds  speedily  heal.  The 
observation  of  this  rule,  therefore,  facilitates  growth,  promotes  health,  and 
ultimately  saves  labour. 

Secondly,  This  rule  needs  very  little  argument  to  enforce  its  propriety,  as 
every  observer  must  have  frequently  seen  and  lamented  the  ruinous  effects  of 
an  opposite  practice.  The  snags  either  send  out  useless  spray,  or  deprived  of 
the  xeeble  aid  of  these,  they  die  and  rot,  and  cai  ry  disease  into  the  bole,  and 
are  thus  often  the  cause  of  the  premature  loss  of  the  tree.  If  cut  close,  the  en- 
largement of  the  living  wood  soon  covers  the  wound.  In  large  branches, 
where  the  saw  must  be  used,  the  healing  process  is  greatly  facilitated  by 
paring  the  cut,  particularly  the  exterior  edges,  with  the  pruning  knife;  and  it 
is  a  good  precaution,  before  you  use  the  saw,  to  notch  under  the  intended  cut, 
to  prevent  tearing  the  bark  when  the  limb  falls.  In  extirpating  sprouts  from 
the  roots,  (and  neither  they  nor  those  growing  from  the  bole  should  be  suffer- 
ed long  to  remain,)  the  like  precaution  of  cutting  close  should  be  observed;  for 
which  purpose  it  is  necessary  first  to  rem'ove  the  earth  from  about  the  collar, 
with  the  spade  or  other  instrument. 

Thirdly,  The  reasons  for  pruning  a  tree  while  young,  apply  here:  it  is 
easier  to  cut  small  than  large  limbs,  and  the  wounds  of  the  former  soon  heal. 
But  the  question  presents,  what  limbs  are  to  be  cutl  Generally  all  that  are 
likely  to  cross  each  other,  all  feeble  spray,  the  strongest  on  the  bole,  and  the 
weakest  in  the  top;  for  while  the  trees  are  in  nursery,  I  think  it  serviceable  to 
leave  a  few  scattering  laterals  upon  the  bole,  and  it  is  beneficial,  at  all  ages,  to 
thin  most  kinds  in  the  top.  Yet  the  answer  to  the  inquiry  will  depend  princi- 
pally upon  the  species  of  tree,  and  the  design  of  the  planter.  If  his  object  be 
timber,  the  leading  shoot  should  be  feathered  up  in  a  spiral  form,  and  all  other 
shoots  likely  to  interfere  with  its  growth  be  cut  away.  If  the  object  be  fruit, 
beauty  and  utility  are  to  be  consulted,  and  these  seldom  are  incompatible  in 
the  eyes  of  a  fruit  grower,  for  with  him  productiveness  constitutes  beauty.  If 
ornament  be  the  main  consideration,  no  special  directions  can  be  given,  as  the 
species  employed,  the  location,  and  the  taste  and  fancy  of  the  planter,  will 
have  a  controlling  influence.  The  rule  for  timber  trees  will  not  apply  to  either 
those  destined  for  fruit  or  ornament. 

In  orchard  and  garden  fruit,  generally,  the  endeavour  should 
be  to  obtain  a  low  and  spreading  top.  When  a  clean  bole  is 
obtained  to  a  sufficient  height,  say,  in  the  orchard,  of  seven  or 
eight  feet,  and  in  the  garden,  according  to  fancy,  the  leading 
shoot  should  be  cut  in,  and  three  or  four  more  branches  left  to 
form  the  head;  which,  when  the  habit  of  the  tree  will  permit 
it,  should  be  pruned  so  as  to  give  it  a  besom  form,  or  that  of  a 
broom  divested  of  its  centre.  Several  advantages  arise  from 
this  and  a  more  extended  form.  It  admits  the  air  more  freely, 
to  mature  the  fruit  and  wood;  it  renders  the  trees  less  liable  to 
be  blown  down;  it  facilitates  the  gathering  of  the  fruit,  and  the 
pruning  of  the  tree.  But  its  principal  advantage  consists  in  its 
tendency  to  increase  oviparous  or  fruit  buds,  and  consequently 
to  auginent  the  fruit.  A  great  growth  of  wood  seems  to  be  in- 
compatible with  a  great  crop  of  fruit,  and  vice  versa.  A  cow 
that  gives  much  milk  seldoin  takes  on  much  flesh  during  the 


ORCHARDS.  475 

milking  season.  If  the  secreted  food  is  converted  into  milk 
and  fruit,  there  can  be  but  little  reasonable  hope  of  its  adding 
to  the  flesh  of  the  animal,  or  the  wood  of  the  vegetable.  Erect 
branches  produce  most  wood  buds.  Straight  limbs  produce 
less  fruit  than  those  that  are  curved  or  crooked.  Whatever 
retards  or  diminishes  the  flow  of  elaborated  sap,  in  a  healthy 
tree,  is  favourable  to  the  production  of  fruit.  Hence  wall 
trees,  whose  limbs  are  trained  in  the  form  of  a  fan,  or  in  a 
horizontal  direction,  bear  better  fruit  than  those  that  grow  up- 
right as  standards.  Hence  young  trees  are  more  apt  to  show 
blossoms  the  first  and  second  year  after  transplanting,  than  in 
the  two  subsequent  3'ears.  Pomologists  have  endeavoured  to 
render  this  law  in  vegetation  subservient  to  their  interests,  by 
adopting  artificial  means  for  producing  the  production  of  fruit 
buds.  These  means  consist  in  ring-barking,  transplanting, 
cutting  the  roots,  training,  pruning,  &c.  The  pears  in  the 
Caledonian  horticultural  garden  are  trained  en  quenouilh,  that 
is,  the  lateral  branches  are  cut  in  to  a  short  distance  of  the 
main  stem,  and  kept  so,  and  the  fruit  is  produced  on  the  spurs 
growing  from  these  short  branches.  In  the  horticultural  gar- 
den of  London,  the  limbs  of  the  pear  are  tied  down  in  a  droop- 
ing position,  resembling  somewhat  in  appearance  the  weeping 
willow.  The  vines  cultivated  at  Thomery,  celebrated  for  their 
superior  fruit,  are  planted  eighteen  inches  apart,  trained  in  the 
form  of  a  T,  the  top  horizontally,  and  restricted  in  their  growth 
to  four  feet  from  the  main  stem.  In  this  way  a  treillance  of 
eight  feet  long,  and  eight  feet  high,  is  sufQcient  for  five  vines, 
which  produce  upon  an  average  320  bunches  of  fruit.  These 
modes  of  training  have  a  common  object,  that  of  restricting 
the  growth  of  wood,  and  producing  an  increase  of  fruit.  Those 
who  wish  to  examine  the  modes  of  training  here  spoken  of,  in 
detail,  are  referred  to  Loudon's  Gardener's  Magazine. 

Fourthlij.  Leaves  are  as  necessary  in  the  economy  of  vegetation  as  roots. 
The  sap  must  be  elaborated  in  these  before  ii  can  be  transmuted  into  wood, 
bark,  or  fruit.  A  tree  cannot  thrive,  therefore,  when  these  org;ans  are  defi- 
cient or  diseased. — If  sufficient  leaves  or  branches  to  produce  them,  are  not 
left  to  concoct  or  digest  the  sap  which  is  propelled  from  the  roots,  the  tree,  to 
use  a  modern  term,  but  a  just  comparison,  becomes  dyspeptic;  the  vegetable 
blood  is  vitiated,  the  wood  loses  its  texture,  and  a  stunted  growth  or  prema- 
ture death  generally  ensues. — Hence  great  precautions  should  be  used  against 
excessive  pruning. 

Pifthly,  To  prune  when  the  tree  bleeds  tends  to  debilitate,  by  wasting  what 
is  designed  as  food  for  the  tree.  I  have  known  it  fatal  to  the  vine.  What  is 
called  bleeding  is  the  flowing  of  the  sap  from  wounds,  before  it  has  been  con- 
verted into  aliment. — This  sap  flows  most  freely  while  the  buds  are  swelling, 
and  until  the  leaves  are  fully  capable  of  discharging  their  office,  as  is  strongly 
instanced  in  the  maple,  birch,  &c.  Our  orchards  are  generally  pruned  in 
March,  which  is  probably  the  most  unfavourable  month  in  the  year  for  this 
operation. 

Sixthly,  The  advantages  of  summer  pruning  are  that  the  tree  being  then  in 
vigorous  growth,  the  wounds  heal  speedily;  and  the  sap  being  concocted  and 


476  ORCHARDS. 

thick,  does  not  flow  from  the  -wounds,  and  thereby  impair  the  health  of  the 
plant.  Summer  pruning  should  not  be  performed,  however,  before  July,  when 
the  new  growth  has  considerably  advanced.  It  maybe  well  to  add,  as  this 
suggestion  may  seem  unsound,  that  summer  pruning  is  recommended  by  the 
best  authorities.  "As  a  general  rule,"  says  Pont.nev,  "summer  is  preferable 
to  winter  pruning:"  and  Sang  suspends  pruning  "from  the  beginning  of  Feb- 
ruary, to  the  middle  of  July,  but  carries  it  on  during  every  other  month  of  the 
year." 

In  regard  to  evergreens,  which  with  us  are  confined  princi- 
pally to  resinous  trees,  it  is  the  general  practice  of  nurserymen, 
and  I  think  it  a  judicious  one,  not  to  prune  them  until  they 
have  acquired  some  years'  growth,  and  then  but  sparingly,  and 
at  long  intervals,  displacing  two  or  three  tiers  of  the  lower 
branches  every  two  or  three  years.  Monteith  says,  "never 
cut  off  a  branch  until  it  has  begun  to  rot,  as  the  bleeding  of  a 
live  branch  will  go  far  to  kill  the  tree." 

The  implements  employed  in  pruning,  and  the  manner  of 
using  them,  are  matters  of  moinent.  If  the  operation  is  com- 
menced when  the  tree  is  young,  and  judiciously  followed  up, 
a  good  knife,  a  small  saw,  and  a  chisel  fixed  on  a  six  foot 
handle,  to  trim  the  tops  and  extremities  of  the  branches,  are 
all  the  tools  that  are  required.  A  large  saw  will  be  occasion- 
ally wanted;  but  an  axe  or  hatchet  should  never  be  employed, 
as  they  fracture  the  wood,  bruise  and  tear  the  bark,  and  dis- 
figure the  tree. 

Diseases  of  Fruit  Trees. — Fruit  trees,  like  other  produc- 
tions of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  have  their  enemies  and  their 
diseases.  All  excesses  of  heat  or  cold,  wetness  or  dryness,  are 
unfriendly  to  them;  sometimes  wholly  destroying  their  fertility 
for  the  season;  at  others  seriously  injuring  it,  and  occasionally, 
though  rarely,  disorganizing  the  trees  themselves. 

Many  insects  also  prey  upon  them,  attacking  their  leaves, 
blossoms,  fruit,  bark,  or  roots. 

But  after  all,  may  not  our  own  negligence  be  considered  as 
tlie  most  fruitful  source  of  many  others  of  a  similar  kind?  We 
often  find  their  bark  covered  and  coloured  with  parasites,  in 
the  form  of  moss,  lichens,  and  smut,  which  a  small  degree  of 
labour  and  a  little  whitewash  would  entirely  and  promptly  re- 
move. We  often  see  the  ravages  made  on  their  leaves  and 
fruit  buds,  by  caterpillars  of  different  names  and  appearances, 
when  if  we  visited  them  at  day-break,  all  would  be  found  at 
home  and  asleep,  and  entirely  within  our  reach.  And  lastly, 
we  often  see  wounds  inflicted  on  stems  and  branches  (under 
the  name  of  pruning),  left  open  to  the  alternate  action  of  air 
and  frost,  and  sunshine,  and  thus  occasion  fatal  consequences, 
when  a  cheap  and  simple  covering  (a  mixture  of  clay  and  cow 
dung)  would  prevent  the  difficulty. 

There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  many  of  the  evils  above  re- 


ORCHARDS.  477 

ferred  to,  might  be  remedied  by  timely  attention.  Trees  may 
be  kept  free  from  insects  by  washing  them  with  soap  suds  be- 
fore the  insects  have  left  those  places  where  they  have  passed 
the  winter,  and  before  the  eggs  which  were  deposited  under 
the  loose  bark,  and  beneath  limbs,  &c.  are  hatched.  By  early 
washing  trees  and  vines,  with  strong  soap  suds,  or  with  lime- 
water,  not  only  are  innumerable  eggs  and  insects  destroyed, 
but  the  young  plants  and  seeds  of  many  varieties  of  mosses 
which  infest  or  injure  trees  and  vines,  are  destroyed  also. 
Trees  that  are  annually  washed,  have  a  more  healthy  appear- 
ance than  those  that  are  not,  when  growing  side  by  side. 

The  application  of  lime  has  been  known  to  restore  old  and 
apparently  worn  out  trees,  to  renewed  health.  A  gentleman 
in  Essex,  England,  having  in  his  orchard  many  old  supposed 
worn  out  apple  trees,  which  produced  fruit  scarcely  larger  than 
a  walnut,  last  winter  took  fresh  made  lime  from  the  kiln, 
slaked  it  in  water,  and  (without  allowing  time  for  its  caustic 
quality  to  be  injured  by  imbibing  fixed  air)  well  dressed  the 
trees,  applying  the  lime  with  a  brush.  The  result  was,  that 
the  insects  and  moss  were  completely  destroyed,  the  outer  rind 
fell  off,  and  a  new,  smooth,  clear  one  formed;  and  the  trees, 
although  some  twenty  years  old,  have  now  a  most  healthy  ap- 
pearance. The  same  treatment  may  be  extended  to  other 
fruit-bearing  trees,  and  probably  with  similar  beneficial  results. 

Mr.  Wheeler,  of  Framingham,  (Mass.)  recommends  to 
wash  trees  with  a  solution  of  potash.     He  says, 

"Dissolve  two  pounds  of  potash  of  the  first  quality,  in  seven 
quarts  of  water,  for  the  bodies  of  the  trees.  If  the  limbs  are 
covered  with  moss  or  lice,  I  take  a  painter's  brush,  and  apply 
the  solution  to  the  moss,  &c.,  with  care  not  to  touch  the  leaves 
or  buds.  It  may  be  done  at  any  time  of  the  year  when  we 
are  most  at  leisure.  Once  in  two  or  four  years  is  generally 
sufficient.  I  have  no  general  rule,  however,  but  wash  them  as 
often  as  they  appear  to  need  it — which  is  always  when  the 
bark  is  not  smooth. 

"No  person  need  be  afraid  of  this  application  injuring  fruit 
trees;  but  it  may  be  applied  with  the  utmost  confidence.  I 
have  used  it  for  nearly  twenty  years  with  great  efi'ect.  I  have 
recommended  it  to  a  great  many  gentlemen,  but  only  a  few 
have  used  it.  Those  who  have  tried  it,  are  much  pleased  with 
its  operation.  The  reason  that  it  has  not  been  more  generally 
used  is,  that  it  has  been  fashionable  to  daub  the  trees  with  lime, 
clay,  manure,  and  other  compositions,  which  ta'ke  two  or  three 
years  to  wash  off,  before  the  trees  will  look  natural.  When 
this  solution  of  potash  is  applied,  it  has  the  desired  effect  im- 
mediately.    It  kills  moss  and  lice  at  once;  and  the  first  rain 


478  ORCHARDS. 

that  comes  washes  the  bark  perfectly  smooth,  and  gives  it  a  fair, 
natural,  healthy  colour." 

Caterpillars  may  be  easily  destroyed,  if  taken  in  time,  and 
at  the  proper  time.  Early  in  the  morning,  and  in  wet 
weather,  they  may  be  found  concentrated  in  a  small  compass, 
under  their  web.  If  within  reach,  the  whole  colony  may  be 
crushed  in  a  moment  with  the  hand.  To  reach  the  more  ele- 
vated webs,  wind  the  end  of  a  pole  with  rags,  and  with  this 
destroy  them.  Or,  what  is  better,  affix  a  Pickering  brush  to 
the  end  of  the  pole,  and  with  this  destroy  them.  This  brush 
is  round  and  conical,  somewhat  resembling  a  bottle  brush.  A 
man  or  boy  will  clear  an  orchard  of  this  pest  before  breakfast; 
and  the  operation  may  be  repeated,  if  necessary,  without  ex- 
pense, or  much  loss  of  time.  Or,  in  place  of  a  brush,  put  a 
sponge  or  swab  made  of  rags,  on  the  end  of  a  pole,  saturate  it 
with  lye  made  from  common  wood  ashes,  or  soap  suds  may  be 
used  instead  of  lye;  with  this  preparation  give  their  nests  a 
thorough  washing  early  in  the  morning  before  these  mis- 
chievous animals  have  gone  abroad  for  their  food.  This  will 
instantly  prove  fatal  to  them.  Be  careful  to  break  the  web  of 
the  nest,  because  they  are  so  constructed  as  to  shed  the  rain 
and  dews,  the  animal  will  thus  escape.  Not  one  of  them  can 
live  a  minute  after  being  wet  with  this  liquid. 

Many  methods  are  prescribed  to  protect  the  different  kinds 
of  fruit  trees  from  injury  by  insects,  worms,  &c.,  but  these  will 
be  spoken  of  under  the  head  of  the  trees  themselves. 

Orchards  are  generally  composed  of  Apple,  Pear,  Peach, 
and  Cherry  trees;  though  to  these  may  be  added  some  others. 

The  Jipj)le  Tree. — "Of  the  many  fruit  trees  in  cultivation," 
says  the  author  of  the  Treatise  on  Agriculture  (Mem.  }3oard 
of  Agr.  N.  Y.)  ''this  may  be  deemed  the  most  iniportant;  not 
only  from  the  great  abundance,  diversified  character,  and  nume- 
rous uses  of  its  produce,  but  from  the  small  degree  of  care  and 
labour  required  in  its  culture,  and  the  uncommon  facility  with 
which  it  adapts  itself  to  a  great  diversity  of  soils,  climates,  and 
situations.  One  of  its  varieties  (the  crab)  is  a  native  of  our 
own  forests;  but  the  cultivated  sorts  among  us  have  all  been 
derived  from  Europe." 

The  apple  is  used  for  the  table,  for  cooking,  and  making 
cider.  In  the  selection  of  sorts,  therefore,  regard  will  proba- 
bly be  had  to  all  these  objects.  But  these  are  so  numerous, 
that  not  one  man  in  a  hundred,  and  probably  not  one  in  a  thou- 
sand, says  another  writer,  in  the  same  work,  possesses  suffi- 
cient knowledge  of  the  numerous  varieties  to  enable  him  to 
make  a  judicious  selection.  One  wishes  to  cultivate  the  sum- 
mer and  early  autumn  kinds  for  marketing;  another  more  re- 


ORCHARDS.  479 

mote  from  towns,  would  confine  his  attention  to  the  choice  of 
winter  varieties,  or  those  which  yield  the  first  quality  of  cider, 
Avhile  all  are  desirous  of  planting  a  succession  at  least  for  do- 
mestic purposes.  The  synonymes  are  so  numerous  of  some 
varieties,  that  they  are  scarcely  known  in  two  states  by  the 
same  names.  Our  tastes  are  extremely  variant.  With  some, 
size  is  every  thing;  with  others,  colour;  and  others  again  re- 
gard as  material  the  flavour,  the  rarity,  or  the  qualities  for 
bearing,  or  late  keeping. 

The  following  list  is  from  the  treatise  above  referred  to  (by 
J.  Armstrong,  of  Dutchess),  and  is  designed  to  exhibit  those 
sorts  which  stand  highest  in  horticultural  estimation,  for  the 
hardiness  and  productiveness  of  the  tree,  the  excellence  of  the 
fruit,  and  the  variety  of  uses  to  which  they  may  be  applied. 
We  have  identified  the  names  (so  far  as  we  could)  with  those 
given  by  Kenrick,  in  his  New  American  Orchardist. 

For  the  table,  for  cider  making,  and  for  cooking. 

Golden  pippin.     A  good  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

Newtown  pippin,  good  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  2  sorts, 
green  and  yelloio  Newtown  pippin. 

Fall  pippin.  Great  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  Fall  pip- 
pin. 

Elton  pippin.     Great  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

New  scarlet  pippin.     Middling  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

Padley  pippin.  Middling  bearer.  Kenrick,  Padley's 
pippin. 

Spitzenberg.  Good  bearer,  fruit  excellent.  Kenrick,  Eso- 
phus  Spitzenberg. 

Swaar.      Good  bearer,  fruit  excellent.      Kenrick  Swaar. 

Wliite  Calville.     Great  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

Red  Calville.  Great  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  Red 
Calville. 

Autumn  Calville.  Good  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  Red 
Autumn  Calville. 

Principally  for  cooking. 

Kentish  Russet.  Great  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  Kentish 
Broading. 

Beauty  of  Wilts.     Great  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

French  Crab.      Great  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

Hollow  Eyed.     Great  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

Cornwall  Pearmain.      Great  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

Keswick  Codline.     Very  great  bearer,  fruit  fine. 

Dutch  Codline.  Great  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  Dutch 
Codline. 


480  ORCHARDS. 


For  the  table  or  cooking. 


Rennet  Frank.  Good  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  Reinette 
Franche. 

Grey  Rennet.  Good  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  Reinette 
Grise. 

Golden  Rennet.  Good  bearer,  fruit  fine.  Kenrick,  Reinette 
Dore^e. 

Apple  trees  are  liable  to  depredations  from  several  quarters. 
Beside  those  formerly  mentioned,  with  the  means  of  their 
remedy,  the  borer,  a  worm  which  perforates  the  wood,  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  a  little  below  where  the  bark  is  tender,  is 
an  enemy  to  be  contended  against.  If  the  worms  have  pene- 
trated the  tree,  it  will  be  necessary  of  course,  to  pick  them 
out;  but  this  may  be  prevented  by  a  timely  application  of  the 
wash  (potash)  before  referred  to;  which  has  been  found  an 
effectual  remedy  against  the  borer.  It  is  said  that  the  eggs 
which  produce  this  insect  are  deposited  from  the  last  of  April 
to  the  beginning  of  June  (that  is,  during  the  month  of  May,  so 
that  the  latter  end  of  May  or  the  beginning  of  June  will  be  the 
proper  time  to  make  the  application).  Every  other  year  will 
answer  for  this  remed}-,  but  the  horticulturalist  will  find  him- 
self amply  repaid  by  a  more  frequent  application. 

The  Canker  ivorm. — The  female  of  this  insect  comes  out  of 
the  ground  very  early  in  the  spring,  and  ascends  the  tree  to 
deposit  her  eggs,  which  she  does  in  suitable  places  in  the  bark, 
where  they  are  brought  forth,  and  the  young  brood  live  on  the 
leaves  of  the  tree.  Several  methods  for  subduing  them  have 
been  tried  with  some  degree  of  success. 

1.  Tarrins;.  This  must  be  commenced  as  soon  as  the  ground 
is  bare  of  snow,  (which  is  in  some  years  as  early  as  February,) 
that  the  first  thawing  of  the  ground  may  not  happen  before  the 
trees  are  prepared.  A  strip  of  canvass,  or  linen,  three  inches 
wide,  should  be  put  round  the  tree,  having  first  filled  the  cre- 
vices of  the  bark  with  clay  mortar;  draw  it  close  and  fasten 
the  ends  strong.  A  thumb  rope  of  tow  should  be  tied  round 
the  lower  edge  of  the  strip  to  prevent  the  tar  from  running 
down  on  the  bark  and  injuring  the  tree.  Let  the  strips  be 
plentifully  smeared  with  cold  tar,  of  a  proper  consistence,  to 
be  put  on  with  a  brush.  It  must  be  renewed  once  a  day  with- 
out fail.  The  insects  are  so  amazingly  prolific,  that  if  ever  so 
few  of  them  get  up,  a  tree  is  ruined,  at  least  for  the  ensuing 
season.  The  best  time  is  soon  after  sunset,  because  the  insects 
pass  up  in  the  evening,  and  the  tar  will  not  harden  so  much  in 
the  night.  This  work  must  be  continued  with  care,  generally 
till  the  last  of  ISIay. 


ORCHARDS.  48X 

2.  Mr.  Nicholson  recommends  to  scrape  off  the  shaggy- 
bark  to  the  width  of  two  or  three  inches;  then  make  a  mixture 
of  oil,  or  blubber,  with  suitable  proportions  of  sulphur  and 
Scotch  snuff;  and  lay  this  on  with  a  brush,  forming  a  ring  an 
inch  or  two  wide;  and  no  insect  will  ever  attempt  to  pass  this 
barrier  as  long  as  the  composition  has  any  considerable  mois- 
ture left  in  it.  Let  it  be  repeated  when  it  inclines  to  harden; 
though  perhaps  this  is  not  necessary. 

3.  The  pasturing  of  swine  in  an  orchard  in  the  fall  and 
spring,  has  been  found  very  serviceable.  These  animals  ap- 
pear to  possess  a  natural  instinct  directing  to  search  for  vermin 
and  insects,  which  conceal  themselves  in  the  earth. 

4.  The  late  Mr.  Peck,  of  Massachusetts,  recommended  as 
an  effectual  remedy,  turning  up  the  ground  carefully  in  Octo- 
ber, as  far  as  the  branches  of  a  tree  extend,  to  half  a  spade's 
depth,  or  five  inches,  so  as  completely  to  invest  the  surface. 
Break  the  clods,  smooth  the  surface  with  a  rake,  and  pass  a 
heavy  roller  over  it,  so  as  to  make  it  very  hard,  and  without 
cracks.  If  the  frost  should  heave  and  crack  the  smooth  sur- 
face in  the  winter,  it  must  be  smoothed  and  hardened  again  in 
March.  This  will  be  found  less  expensive  than  the  long  course 
of  tarring. 

5.  Dr.  Thatcher  thinks  it  highly  probable,  that  a  quantity 
of  sea-weed  pressed  round  the  trunks  of  fruit  trees,  extending 
three  or  four  feet,  would  prove  a  remedy,  by  forming  a  com- 
pact substance,  through  which  the  canker  moth  and  worm 
would  not  penetrate. 

6.  Mr.  KENRicK,of  Massachusetts,  proposes  to  destroy  can- 
ker worms  by  the  following  method:  from  any  time  in  June, 
after  the  worms  have  entirely  disappeared,  until  the  20th  of 
October,  let  the  whole  of  the  soil  surrounding  the  trees,  to  the 
extent  of  four  feet,  be  dug  up  and  carted  away  to  a  consider- 
able distance;  and  let  there  be  returned  an  equal  quantity  of 
compost,  or  rich  earth,  intermixed  with  manure.  By  this  ope- 
ration, the  farmer,  besides  exterminating  the  worms,  promotes 
the  growth  and  fruitfulness  of  his  trees,  and  defends  them 
against  moles.  The  author  of  the  Farmer's  Assistant  observes, 
that  by  taking  the  earth  away  from  the  roots  of  the  trees  very 
early  in  the  spring,  and  destroying  whatever  may  appear  to  be 
the  abode  of  any  insects,  and  then  returning  the  earth  back, 
mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  sulphur,  sprinkling  some  of 
this  upon  the  surface,  is,  he  believes,  the  most  effectual  me- 
thod to  keep  every  kind  of  insect  from  ascending. 

7.  Mr.  Knapp,  of  Boston,  has  been  very  successful  in  the 
application  of  lime,  as  follows:  Dig  the  turf,  lay  the  ground 
smooth,  and  apply  the  lime  in  the  fall.     Take  air-slaked  lime, 

41 


482  ORCHARDS. 

strew  it  about  an  inch  thick,  to  the  extent  of  two  or  three  feet 
from  the  roots  of  the  trees.  The  digging  round  the  trees  is 
highly  useful,  while  tarring  is  injurious.  The  expense  is  not 
great:  a  man  can  dig  round  fifty  large  trees  in  a  day.  The 
lime  is  a  most  salutary  manure  to  the  trees.  After  the  spot 
has  been  once  opened  and  limed,  the  labour  of  keeping  it  open 
will  not  be  great.  Three  hogsheads  of  air-slaked  lime,  or 
sweepings  of  a  lime  store,  will  suffice  for  fifty  trees,  and  will 
cost  three  dollars.  As  it  is  done  but  once  a  year,  he  thinks  it 
cannot  be  half  so  expensive  as  tarring. 

Mr.  RuGGLES,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  says  he  was  some 
years  ago  struck  with  the  idea  that  the  capsules  of  the  Ameri- 
can chestnut,  or  chestnut  bur,  might  be  applied  with  advantage 
to  prevent  the  effects  of  the  canker-worm.  We  accordingly 
took  a  piece  of  strong  twine  and  sail  needle,  and  made  a  band 
of  them,  placing  all  the  backs  one  vvay,  which  caused  the  spires 
to  project  in  all  directions.  We  tied  this  round  the  trunk  of 
an  apple  tree,  in  the  centre  of  an  orchard,  that  was  much  in- 
jured the  year  before;  the  tree  bore  abundantly  without  the 
leaves  being  injured  in  the  least,  while  those  around  were  all 
ruined  for  that  year. 

He  has  since  tried  it  several  times  with  entire  success.  A 
set  of  bands  will  last  many  years,  if  taken  ofi"  when  the  insects 
have  done  ascending,  and  secured  in  a  dry  place.  He  usually 
put  the  bands  on  the  trees  about  the  beginning  of  March.  In 
places  where  chestnut  burs  are  not  easily  obtained,  he  thinks 
the  use  of  the  fuller's  teasel  would  answer  the  same  purpose. 

The  Curciilio. — The  curculio  is  a  winged  insect  or  beetle. 
The  manner  in  which  it  injures  and  destroys  fruit,  is  by  its 
mode  of  propagation.  Early  in  the  spring,  about  the  time 
when  the  fruit  trees  are  in  blossom,  the  curculio  ascends  in 
swarms  from  the  earth.  They  crawl  up  the  trecrs,  and  as  the 
fruit  advances  they  puncture  the  rind  or  skin,  and  deposit  their 
embryos  in  the  wounds  thus  inflicted.  The  maggot  thus  bedded 
in  the  fruit,  preys  upon  its  pulp  and  juices,  until  in  most  in- 
stances the  fruit  perishes,  falls  to  the  ground,  and  the  insect 
escaping  makes  a  retreat  into  the  earth,  where  it  remains  until 
the  coming  spring. 

Various  modes  have  been  recommended  and  practised  to 
destroy  this  insect  or  dvert  its  attacks.  One  fact  mentioned 
by  Dr.  Filton,  renders  it  extremely  probable  that  the  same 
remedies  might  be  effectual  here,  which  are  prescribed  against 
the  canker-worm.  He  says  that  two  trees  of  the  same  kind 
may  stand  in  the  nearest  possible  neighbourhood,  not  to  touch 
each  other,  the  one  have  its  fruit  destroyed  by  the  curculio, 
and  the  other  uninjured,  merely  from  contingent  circumstances, 


ORCHARDS.  483 

which  prevent  the  insects  from  crawling  up  the  one  while  they 
are  uninterrupted  from  climbing  up  the  other. 

Among  the  proffered  remedies  is  that  of  suspending  tarred 
shingles  in  various  parts  of  the  tree,  the  odour  of  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  repugnant  to  them.  Digging  round  the  trees,  in 
the  manner  before  mentioned,  lias  also  been  advised.  It  has, 
however,  been  observed,  that  those  orchards  are  most  free  from 
their  depredations  to  which  the  domestic  animals  have  free 
access. — Hogs,  by  devouring  the  fruit  that  falls,  before  the  in- 
sects have  time  to  escape;  and  poultry,  who  are  great  devourers 
of  all  sorts  of  insects,  will  contribute  greatly  to  this  end. 
Therefore  it  is,  that  smooth  stoned  fruits  in  particular,  succeed 
much  better  in  lanes  and  yards,  where  the  poultry  run  without 
restraint,  than  in  gardens  and  other  inclosures  from  which  they 
are  excluded.  Horned  cattle  also,  by  trampling  and  harden- 
ing the  ground,  may  be  of  service  to  the  preservation  of  fruit. 
Paving  the  ground  is  said  to  be  a  very  effectual  mode  of  pre- 
serving fruit  from  the  attack  of  the  curculio,  by  preventing  its 
descent  into  the  earth,  in  which  case  it  finds  no  winter  habita- 
tion. But  as  this  could  not  be  done  on  a  very  extensive  scale, 
some  flat  stones  laid  around  the  trees  and  cemented  with  lime, 
might  be  substituted. 

In  Kenrick's  new  and  valuable  American  Orchardist,  we  find 
the  following  excellent  remarks  on 

Gathering  and  preserving  fruit. — "Various  theories  haA^e  been  ofiered  for 
preserving  apples  in  a  sound  state  for  winter  use,  or  for  distant  voyages.  Some 
have  proposed  gathering  the  fruit  before  it  is  ripe,  and  drying  it  on  floors  be- 
fore it  is  put  up:  this  has  been  tried;  apples  lose  their  sprightly  flavour,  and 
keep  no  better  than  by  some  less  troublesome  modes.  Dr.  Noah  Webster  has 
recommended  that  they  should  be  put  down  between  layers  of  sand  that  has 
been  dried  by  the  heat  of  the  summer.  This  is,  without  doubt,  an  excellent 
mode,  as  it  excludes  the  air,  and  absorbs  the  moisture,  and  must  be  useful 
when  apples  are  shipped  to  a  warm  climate.  But  apples  thus  preserved  are 
liable  to  imbibe  an  earthy  taste. 

"Chopped  straw  has  also  been  highly  recommended  to  be  placed  between 
layers  of  fruit;  but  I  have  noticed  that  the  straw,  from  the  perspiration  it  im- 
bibes, becomes  musty,  and  may  do  more  hurt  than  good.  When  apples  are  to 
be  exported,  it  has  been  recommended  that  each  be  separately  wrapped  in 
coarse  paper,  in  the  manner  oranges  and  lemons  are  put  up.  This  is,  without 
doubt,  an  excellent  mode.  And  JVIr.  Loudon  has  recommended  that  apples 
destined  for  Europe  should  be  packed  between  layers  of  grain. 

"Great  quantities  of  winter  fruit  are  raised  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  and 
put  up  for  the  winter  use,  for  the  market  and  for  exportation.  The  following 
is  the  mode  almost  imiversally  adopted  by  the  most  experienced.  And  by  this 
mode  the  apples,  under  very  favourable  circumstances,  are  frequently  preserv- 
ed in  a  sound  state,  or  not  one  in  fifty  defective,  for  a  period  of  seven  or  eight 
months.  The  fruit  is  sufi^ered  to  hang  on  the  tree  to  as  late  a  period  as  possi- 
ble in  October,  or  till  hard  frosts  have  loosened  the  stalk,  and  they  are  in  dan- 
ger of  being  blown  down  by  high  winds;  such  as  have  already  fallen  are  care- 
fully gathered  and  inspected,  and  the  best  are  put  up  for  early  winter  use. 
They  are  carefully  gathered  from  the  tree  by  hand,  and  as  carefully  laid  in 
baskets.  New,  tight,  well  seasoned  flour  barrels  from  the  baker's,  are  usually 
preferred;  the  barrels  being  quite  filled  are  gently  shaken,  and  the  head  is 


484  ORCHARDS. 

gentl)-- pressed  down  to  its  place  and  secured.  It  is  observed  that  this  pressure 
never  causes  them  to  rot  next  the  head,  and  is  necessary,  as  they  are  never 
allowed  to  rattle  in  moving.  No  soft  straw  or  shavings  are  admitted  at  the 
ends;  it  causes  mustiness  and  decay.  They  are  next  carefully  placed  in 
wagons  and  removed  on  the  bulge,  and  laid  in  courses  in  a  cool  airy  situation, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  building,  near  the  cellar,  protected  by  a  covering  on 
the  top  of  boards,  so  placed  as  to  defend  them  from  the  sun  and  rain,  while 
the  air  is  not  excluded  at  the  sides.  A  chill  does  not  injure  them;  it  is  no  dis- 
service; but  when  extreme  cold  weather  comes  on,  and  they  are  in  imminent 
danger  of  being  frozen,  whether  by  night  or  dav,  they  are  carefully  rolled  into 
a  cool,  airy,  dry  cellar,  with  an  opening  on  the  north  side,  that  the  cold  air 
may  have  free  access — they  are  laid  in  tiers,  and  the  cellar  is  indue  time 
closed,  and  rendered  secure  from  frost. — The  barrels  are  never  tumbled  or 
placed  on  the  head.  Apples  keep  best  when  grown  in  dry  seasons  and  on  dry 
soils.  If  fruit  is  gathered  late,  and  according  to  the  above  directions,  re-pack- 
ing is  unnecessary;  it  is  even  ruinous,  and  should  on  no  account  be  practised, 
till  the  barrel  is  opened  for  use.     It  has  been  fully  tried." 

Making  cider. — From  the  apple,  in  our  country,  v/e  obtain 
a  beverage  highly  useful.  The  wines  of  other  countries  do  not 
differ  more  in  quality  than  the  cider  in  ours.  And  much  of 
this  difference  arises  from  improper  management,  either  in 
grinding  the  apples,  or,  what  is  more  common,  putting  the 
must  or  juice  into  foul  casks,  and  neglecting  or  mismanaging 
it  while  fermentino;. 

To  make  the  best  of  cider,  3'ou  must  have  sound  fruit,  (no 
rotten  apples  must  ever  be  admitted,)  gathered  late  in  the  sea- 
son in  dry  weather,  after  the  middle  of  October  if  possible. 
They  should  lay  in  large  heaps,  covered  from  the  dews  and 
rain,  about  fourteen  days,  in  w^hich  they  heat,  and  throw  off  a 
great  proportion  of  their  indigested  and  insipid  water,  and 
ripen  more  uniformly  than  while  on  the  trees.  They  must 
not  be  ground  while  they  are  wet  either  from  the  rain,  the 
dew,  or  from  the  moisture  thrown  out  by  the  heat  produced  by 
their  laying  together. 

The  finer  the  apple  is  ground,  the  more  it  will  yield.  If  the 
mill  is  well  fitted,  it  crushes  the  seed,  and  gives  a  peculiar  aro- 
matic bitter  to  the  must,  which  becomes  more  and  more  dis- 
tinguishable as  the  cider  is  longer  kept.  Some  prefer  this 
flavour;  others  dislike  it,  not  distinguishing  it  from  the  bitter 
of  the  rotten  apples,  although  very  different  from  that  pungent 
bitter,  both  in  taste  on  the  palate  and  effects  on  the  stomach. 

The  pumace  should  be  suffered  to  stand  from  six  to  twenty- 
four  hours,  according  as  you  may  wish  to  give  a  higher  or  a 
paler  colour  to  your  cider.  Its  aptness  to  imbibe  foreign  tastes 
renders  an  exact  attention  to  your  vessels  of  great  importance. 
New  vessels,  made  of  seasoned  oak,  do  very  roll;  but  those 
which  have  been  used  are  better,  provided  they  be  kept  siveet 
and  clean. 

How  to  clean  the  casks. — When  a  cask  is  emptied  rinse  it 
with  cold  water  immediately,  otherwise  the  lees  will  sour,  and 


ORCHARDS.  4§5 

fix  an  acid  tliat  can  hardly  be  removed;  and  if  long  continued, 
dries  on  the  staves  so  hard  as  to  require  much  labour  in  scrub- 
bing it  off;  in  this  case  it  should  be  whitewashed  with  lime 
(which  is  done  by  putting  about  one  pint  of  unslaked  lime  into 
a  barrel  of  common  size,  to  which  pour  three  or  four  gallons  of 
boiling  water;  shake  it  well,  giving  it  vent;  let  it  stand  till 
cool,  and  rinse  with  cold  water.  If  it  still  retains  the  sour 
smell,  let  the  operation  be  repeated.) 

When  it  is  rinsed  perfectly  clean  with  cold  water,  pour  into 
a  hogshead  at  least  six  gallons  of  boiling  water.  Roll  and 
shake  the  water  to  every  part  of  the  cask,  so  as  to  heat  it  on 
all  sides.  Then  pour  out  the  water  and  lay  your  cask  exactly 
bung  hole  downwards,  the  water  running  clear  and  entirely 
off;  the  heat  in  the  cask  will  dry  it  perfectly.  In  this  state 
bung  it  up  as  carefully  as  if  filled  with  your  choicest  liquors, 
and.it  will  remain  perfectly  sweet  and  fit  for  use  in  the  follow- 
ing season. 

It  is  best,  hoivever,  to  inspect  each  cask  before  you  Jill  it. 
This  is  done  by  fixing  a  candle  to  a  wire  three  feet  long,  and 
letting  down  the  candle  through  the  bung  hole  into  the  cask; 
you  can  then  see  every  part  of  the  inside  as  distinctly  as  the 
outside.  If  they  are  clean  (and  tight)  it  is  not  best  to  rinse 
them  with  water.  It  may  appear  singular  to  you  that  so  much 
is  said  on  a  case  that  is  plain  to  everyone;  but  believe  me,  you 
may  take  ten  times  the  trouble  in  another  way,  and  not  effectu- 
ally cleanse  your  vessels;  and  unless  they  are  perfectly  sweet, 
it  is  impossible  to  have  good  cider. 

The  must  or  juice  of  the  apple  being  obtained,  the  first  ob- 
ject is  to  clear  it  of  pumace;  the  second,  to  produce  a  fermen- 
tation to  your  palate  and  purpose. 

To  clear  the  liquor  q/"jowm«ce,  most  farmers  do  nothing 
more  than  strain  it  through  straw.  It  ought  to  be  strained 
through  a  hair  sieve,  or  run  through  sand.  The  mischief  of 
pumace  left  in  the  liquor  is,  that  it  produces  an  excessive  fer- 
mentation, by  which  more  cider  is  injured  than  in  any  other 
way. 

Another  way  to  free  the  liquor  of  pumace,  practised  by  some 
of  our  best  farmers  and  much  recommended,  is  putting  the 
liquor  into  large  open  vessels  or  vats,  with  a  tap  and  faucet 
near  the  bottom,  by  which  to  draw  it  off.  Hogsheads,  where 
they  can  be  had,  with  one  head  out,  will  answer  the  purpose. 
In  these  open  vessels  it  is  to  stand  till  the  first  appearance  of 
fermentation,  which  may  be  sixty  hours;  or  it  will  be  sooner 
or  later  according  to  the  degree  of  heat  in  the  air  at  the  time. 

During  this  period  the  heaviest  of  the  pulp  sinks  to  the  bot- 
tom; the  larger  and  lighter  parts  rise  to  the  surface  in  scum, 
41* 


485  ORCHARDS. 

where  it  remains  until  the  fermentation  begins;  but  the  fer- 
mentation would  involve  great  part  of  the  pulp,  both  from 
above  and  below,  into  the  body  of  the  liquor,  and  increase  the 
fermentation  beyond  our  control.  It  must,  therefore,  be  re- 
moved before  this  effect  be  produced.  Soon  after  the  fermen- 
tation begins,  the  covering  on  the  top  of  the  must  or  liquor 
cracks  and  separates,  when  there  is  not  a  moment  to  be  lost 
before  you  draw  it  off  into  your  casks,  leaving  the  pulp  behind. 

Fermenting  of  cider,  fining  and  bottling. — There  are  three 
fermentations  of  which  cider  is  capable;  first,  the  vinous,  which 
produces  the  alchohol  or  spirit  that  gives  the  liquor  its  stimu- 
lating and  exhilarating  qualities;  second,  the  acid,  which  turns 
the  cider  to  vinegar;  third,  the  putrid,  which  utterly  destroys 
its  use,  and  reduces  it  to  a  nauseous  and  poisonous  liquid.  The 
principal  object  in  making  good  cider  is,  to  stop  the  working 
of  the  cider  as  soon  as  the  vinous  fermentation  is  completed. 
The  cider  in  our  country,  as  it  is  usually  managed,  rarely  stops 
at  this  stage.  Nine  times  out  of  ten,  it  is  far  advanced  to  the 
vinegar  state. 

The  fermentation  should  be  slow;  in  order  to  this  the  medium 
heat  of  the  day  should  never  exceed  forty-eight  degrees  of 
Fahrenheit's  thermometer.  But  as  farmers,  generally,  have  no 
thermometers,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  notice,  that  this  tempera- 
ture of  the  air  does  not  usually  take  place  in  our  cellars  before 
November,  which  generally  affords  the  best  season  for  making 
and  storing  cider. 

To  check  the  fermentation  when  becoming  too  violent  or 
too  long  continued,  rack  or  draw  off  the  cider  from  the  lees 
into  clean  casks,  in  which,  when  about  half  filled,  should  be 
burnt  some  matches  of  sulphur,  and  the  fumes  incorporated 
with  the  cider  by  shaking  and  turning  the  barrel.  When  the 
air  in  the  cellar  is  fallen  to  forty-six  degrees  or  lower,  it  is  fit 
for  the  reception  of  cider. 

During  the  whole  time  of  fermentation  the  casks  must  be 
kept  full,  so  that  the  yeast,  pulp,  gas,  or  whatever  you  please 
to  call  that  matter  which  rises  in  fermentation,  may  be  thrown 
out  of  the  cask  and  not  return  into  the  liquor;  for  if  it  does,  it 
operates  as  yeast,  renews  the  fermentation,  and  will  destroy 
the  cider. 

If  racking  or  drawing  off  the  cider  has  not  been  done  sooner, 
it  should  never  be  delayed  longer  than  till  February,  as  if  suf- 
fered to  stand  on  the  lees  through  the  summer  it  will  most  cer- 
tainly injure  the  cider.  To  fine  or  clarify  cider,  isinglass,  the 
whites  of  eggs,  and  calves'-feet  jelly,  are  all  made  use  of.  This, 
however,  need  not  be  done,  unless  the  cider  is  wanted  for  hot- 


ORCHARDS.  487 

tling  or  for  market,  as  good  cider  will  generally  fine  itself,  in 
its  own  time. 

One  ounce  of  isinglass,  as  it  is  called,  which  is  nothing  else 
than  fish  glue,  dissolved  in  two  or  tliree  quarts  of  cider,  and 
strained,  is  sufficient  for  one  barrel.  This  must  be  well  mixed 
with  the  cider  by  a  slick  introduced  at  the  bung.  Leave  the 
bung  out,  and  it  will  usually  fine  in  eight  or  nine  days,  after 
which,  if  desired,  it  may  be  drawn  off  into  bottles,  or  other- 
wise into  clean  casks,  as  it  must  not  remain  above  ten  or  twelve 
days  at  most  on  the  finings. 

Cider  when  fine  will  be  perfectly  clear  and  transparent;  till 
then  it  is  not  fit  for  bottling.  The  bottles  must  be  dry;  a  few 
drops  of  water  would  spoil  a  bottle  of  cider.  The  corks  before 
driving  should  be  dipped  in  cider,  and  driven  with  a  wooden 
bat,  turning  the  nose  of  the  bottle  down,  so  that  the  cider  shall 
come  in  contact  with  the  cork,  otherwise  there  will  be  danger 
of  breaking  the  bottles.  A  tea-spoonful  of  brandy  added  to 
each  bottle,  is  said  to  have  a  good  effect  in  lessening  the  fer- 
mentation, and  thereby  preventing  the  bottles  bursting.  Bot- 
tles when  put  away  should  be  laid  on  their  sides,  that  the  corks 
may  be  kept  swollen  so  as  to  prevent  any  escape  of  gas. 

If  cider  is  to  be  kept  in  casks  after  May,  early  in  the  spring 
cover  the  bungs  with  rosin,  or  cement  of  some  kind.  To  do 
this  open  a  spile  hole  while  the  cement  is  laid  on;  otherwise 
no  art  can  cover  the  bung  effectually;  the  air  from  within  will 
force  up  the  cement  through  the  smallest  passage,  and  disap- 
point a  thousand  attempts  to  fill  it  up.  When  covered,  and  the 
cement  cooled,  make  the  cask  tight  by  driving  an  oak  spile 
into  the  hole. 

"Farmers,"  says  Mr.  Lowell,  "drink  a  miserable  liquor 
instead  of  an  excellent  one  which  they  might  have:  they  obtain 
a  reduced  price  for  the  article,  in  consequence  of  the  bad  state 
in  which  it  is  brought  to  market.  If  they  should  reduce  the 
liquor  into  a  vinous  and  refined  state,  before  it  is  carried  to 
market,  they  would  obtain  five  and  even  ten  dollars  a  barrel 
instead  of  three. 

"Something,  too,  must  be  allowed  for  the  addition  to  their 
own  comfort  and  enjoyment.  With  three  days'  labour  of  one 
man,  forty  barrels  of  cider  may  be  sufficiently  attended  to, 
racked  one  or  more  times,  the  casks  rinsed,  and  stummed  with 
sulphur;  then  the  farmer  would  never  have  to  resort  to  foreign 
liquor  to  regale  his  friends.  A  good  bottle  of  cider  is  often 
equal  to  the  best  champaigne,  the  most  popular  wine  in 
France." 

Vinegar. — The  principal  requisites  to  form  good  vinegar, 

re,  1.  Contact  with  the  air;  2.  A  temperature  not  exceeding 


488  ORCHARDS. 

20  degrees  of  Reaumur  (77  of  Fahrenheit);  3.  The  addition  of 
some  extraneous  vegetable  matter  to  promote  the  acetous  fer- 
mentation; and  4,  The  presence  of  alcohol.  Vinegar  can  be 
made  from  cider,  from  the  juice  of  currants,  from  sugar  and 
water  with  a  little  whiskey:  a  cask  that  has  been  used  to  keep 
vinegar  in,  is  the  best  cask  to  make  it  in.  If  cider  is  too  weak, 
add  half  a  pound  of  sugar  and  half  a  gill  of  whiskey  to  each 
gallon,  and  set  the  cask  in  the  sun,  covering  the  bung  hole 
slightly  to  admit  the  air  and  exclude  the  dust. 

Vinegar,  however,  is  best  made  thus:  to  a  quarter  cask  of 
good  cider,  add  4  pounds  of  white  Havana  sugar,  and  half  a 
pound  of  argol  or  rough  tartar  in  fine  powder;  it  will  be  better 
for  the  addition  of  some  lees  of  wine;  expose  it  to  the  heat  not 
less  than  75  degrees  nor  more  than  SO  degrees,  with  the  bung 
out.  Twice  or  thrice  a  day,  draw  off  a  pailful,  and  after  it  has 
stood  exposed  to  the  air  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  return  it  into  the 
bung  hole  b}^  a  funnel. 

The  method  of  imitating  wine  vinegar  in  the  English  manu- 
factories, is  as  follows:  In  a  long  room,  quarter  casks  of  cider 
placed  upright,  side  by  side,  raised  above  the  floor  about  twenty 
inches,  occupy  all  sides  of  the  room,  which  by  means  of  stoves 
is  kept  at  a  temperature  of  about  SO  degrees  of  Fahrenheit. 
The  top  of  the  cask  is  bored  full  of  holes;  on  each  cask  is  placed 
a  tub  holding  about  half  a  bushel  or  more  of  Malaga  raisins. 

The  sole  occupation  of  the  man  who  attends  the  room,  is  to 
go  round  incessantly,  and  draw  a  pailful  from  the  bottom,  and 
pour  it  upon  the  Malaga  raisins;  tJie  cider  percolates  through 
the  raisins,  and  runs  into  the  cask  by  means  of  the  holes  in  the 
top.  This  gives  the  wine  flavour  and  body.  The  operation 
takes  about  a  fortnight,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  cider; 
when  this  is  weak,  sugar  and  powdered  tartar  are  put  in.  The 
tartar  certainly  adds  to  the  strength  of  the  acid,  and  also  to  the 
vinous  taste,  but  the  acid  of  tartar  is  by  no  means  so  whole- 
some as  the  acid  of  vinegar.  Tartar  can  be  discovered  by 
means  of  sugar  of  lead:  the  tartrate  of  lead  precipitates;  the 
acetate  of  lead  is  soluble. 

The  Pear  Tree. — Of  the  pear  tree  as  well  as  the  apple 
tree,  there  are  many  varieties:  as  these  do  not  re-produce 
themselves  from  the  seed,  and  as  the  plant  furnished  by  layers, 
cuttings  and  scions,  are  very  indifferent,  the  pear  tree  is  usually 
propagated  by  scions  and  buds.  They  may  be  grafted  on 
quince  or  pear  stocks.  The  best  fruit  is  usually  produced  from 
quince  stocks;  but  though  finer  in  quality,  it  is  not  so  abundant 
in  quantity  as  that  produced  from  pear  stocks. 

We  give  the  following  from  Mr.  Kenrick's  select  list  of 
fruits,  as  contained  in  his  New  American  Orchardist.     Those 


ORCHARDS.  489 

who  would  be  more  particular,  will  do  well  to  consult  that 
book. 

Summer  fruit:  Green  Chissel,  Early  Rousselet,  Jargonelle, 
St.  John's,  Skinless. 

Jlutumn  fruit :  Andrews,  Bartlett,  Capsheaf,  Dix,  Dutchess 
D'Angouleme,  Fulton,  Gore's  Heathcot,  Harvard,  Golden 
Beurre  of  Bilboa,  Marie  Louise,  Napoleon,  Wilkinson. 

Winter  fruit:  Diel,  Lewis,  Passe  Colmar. 

Winter  baking  Pear:  Catillac,  Pound. 

A  pear  tree  should  be  left  pretty  much  to  its  own  growth. 
It  may,  however,  sometimes  be  necessary  to  apply  the  knife, 
in  which  case  it  should  be  merely  to  keep  the  head  of  the  tree 
tolerably  well  open  in  the  middle,  and  to  preserve  its  pyramidal 
shape,  by  shortening  the  wood  on  that  side  where  it  grows  too 
luxuriantly. 

Diseases. — The  pear  tree  is  liable  to  injury  from  the  slug- 
worm,  which  usually  appears  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves, 
in  the  month  of  July.  They  may  be  easily  destroyed  by  sift- 
ing air-slaked  lime  over  them.  The  curciilio  is  also  an  enemy 
of  the  pear  tree;  and  may  be  treated  in  the  manner  already 
described  under  the  head  of  the  apple  tree.  The  fire  blight  is 
another  serious  disease  which  often  attacks  this  tree. 

"One  reason,"  says  Mr.  Goodsell,  "why  horticulturists 
have  not  made  more  satisfactory  discoveries  as  to  the  cause  of 
this  disease  is,  that  the}^  have  not  commenced  their  examisia- 
tions  sufficiently  early,  and  have  been  led  to  watch  the  progress 
of  it  after  the  first  cause  has  ceased  to  operate. 

"I  am  inclined  to  think  that  careful  examinations  will  sup- 
port the  following  conclusions. 

''First — That  the  blight  in  pear,  apple,  and  quince  trees, 
is  occasioned  by  an  insect. 

''Secondly/ — That  it  is  communicated  to  the  pistil  of  the 
flower  at  the  time  that  organ  is  in  its  greatest  perfection,  or 
during  the  expansion  of  the  flower. 

"-Tkirdly — That  it  gradually  spreads  from  the  point  of  in- 
fection to  other  parts  of  the  tree,  in  a  manner  similar  to  morti- 
fication in  the  animal  kingdom. 

'■'Fourthly — That  it  is  as  capable  of  being  communicated 
by  inoculation  as  the  small-pox. 

"Fifthly — That  no  tree  has  it,  unless  by  inoculation,  until 
it  has  produced  flowers. 

"In  support  of  the  first  conclusion,  so  far  as  we  have  observed  this  disease, 
it  has  spread  from  the  place  wiiere  it  first  commenced  in  an  orchard  in  every 
direction,  without  reference  to  the  general  course  of  the  wind  at  the  time;  and 
as  the  quince  does  not  come  into  flower  until  after  the  pear  has  shed  its  flower, 
it  cannot  be  attributed  to  an  intermixture  of  pollen  from  the  pear  tree. 

"That  it  commences  at  the  point  of  the  pistil  has  been  evident  from  every 


490  ORCHARDS. 

case  we  have  examined,  before  the  different  parts  of  the  flower  are  decayed. 
It  often  appears  that  not  more  than  one  flower  in  ihe  cluster  is  infected:  the 
fruit  of  the  infected  tlower  does  not  swell  as  the  others,  which  continue  their 
growth,  until  the  mortification  has  by  degrees  descended  through  the  stem,  to 
the  woody  part  of  the  fruit  spur,  over  which  it  spreads,  and  ascends  the  stems 
of  the  remaining  part  of  the  cluster,  which  may  readily  be  observed,  by  a  dis- 
colouration of  them  as  it  advances.  In  this  section  of  the  country  the  disease 
will  be  found  to  have  advanced  thus  far  by  the  first  of  Jime,  when  the  leaves 
on  the  fruit  spur,  so  affected,  will  be  found  withering.  After  this,  the  rapidity 
with  which  it  spreads,  depends  on  circumstances.  Where  there  is  the  greatest 
quantity  of  alburnum,  or  elaborated  sap,  the  disease  spreads  with  the  greatest 
rapidity,  which  is  increased  by  the  state  of  the  atmosphere;  as  in  warm  moist 
weather  it  progresses  further  than  when  dry  and  cool. 

"It  is  not  till  the  middle  of  June,  that  this  disease  begins  to  manifest  itself 
to  superficial  observers.  About  this  time  the  mortification  from  the  fruit  spurs, 
will  have  reached  the  limbs;  and  where  they  are  numerous,  and  most  of  them 
affected,  they  will  in  a  short  time  destroy  the  branch,  so  as  to  cut  off  all  com- 
munication between  the  bark  and  wood.  As  the  ascending  sap  passes  through 
the  sap-wood  to  the  leaves,  before  it  is  elaborated,  this  communication  is  not 
cut  off  until  later  in  the  season,  and  the  outer  ends  of  the  limbs  remain  green, 
until  the  disease  has  penetrated  the  wood;  at  which  time  the  ascent  of  the  .<^ap 
is  cut  off,  and  the  whole  limb  becomes  discoloured  in  a  short  time,  often  in  the 
space  of  a  few  hours. 

"We  do  not  pretend  to  be  such  an  adept  in  the  science  of  vegetable  patholo- 
gy, as  to  be  able  to  describe  the  manner  in  which  the  virus  of  this  disease  acts 
upon  the  healthy  parts  of  the  tree;  but  of  this  we  are  satisfied,  by  repeated  ex- 
periments, that  it  is  as  capable  of  being  communicated  by  infection  as  the  small- 
pox, or  any  disease  to  v-hieh  the  hiiman  family  is  subject.  The  manner  in  which 
we  have  conducted  these  experiments  is  as  follows:  We  have  taken  the  dis- 
coloured vivid  matter  from  between  the  bark  and  wood  of  a  diseased  limb,  and 
put  it  beneath  the  bark  of  a  healthy  tree,  in  some  instances  covering  the  wound 
with  a  strip  of  rag,  which  had  been  dipped  in  melted  grafting  wax,  in  others 
leading  the  incision  open;  in  some  instances  the  quantity  of  virus  introduced 
into  the  healthy  tree  was  not  greater  than  would  be  used  to  inoculate  a  person 
for  the  small-pox;  and  yet  in  every  instance,  within  from  three  to  five  days,  the 
disease  has  shown  itself  spreading  the  same  as  in  a  tree  which  had  it  the 
'natural  way.' 

"Trees  do  not  have  it  the  natural  way  until  they  have  put  forth  blossoms. 
We  have  repeatedly  seen  young  trees  growing  near  those  which  were  in  a 
diseased  state,  which  remained  in  perfect  vigour,  and  this  present  season  we 
have  examined  one  which  was  of  a  large  size  which  had  never  produced  any 
blossoms  before,  and  this  year  only  upon  one  small  limb,  which  produced  one 
dozen  bunches  of  flowers,  nearly  all  of  which  were  diseased,  so  that  we  think 
by  the  first  of  July  the  limb  will  have  turned  as  black  as  if  it  had  been  scorched 
by  fire. 

"Amputation  is  the  only  remedy  known  at  present.  As  soon  as  the  disease 
is  observed,  the  limb  should  be  cut  off  below  where  it  can  be  discovered,  in 
doing  which  the  operator  should  remember  that  the  smallest  quantity  of  vims 
is  sufficient  to  communicate  it  to  a  healthy  part,  if  brought  in  contact  between 
the  bark  and  the  wood;  he  should,  therefore,  be  careful  not  to  use  an  instru- 
ment for  amputation  which  has  been  used  to  examine  the  diseased  parts,  unless 
it  has  been  thoroughly  cleansed. 

"We  have  been  thus  lengthy  in  regard  to  this  disease,  because  it  is  one  of  vital 
importance  to  every  farmer  who  would  cultivate  a  valuable  orchard,  or  is  fond 
of  this  delicious  fruit." 

The  Peach  Tree. — A  rich  sandy  loam  is  the  soil  best  suited 
to  the  peach  tree.  If  the  soil  be  not  naturally  of  this  descrip- 
tion, a  bushel  or  two  of  sand  thrown  around  the  root  of  the  tree 
at  planting  will  greatly  improve  it.  Some  writers  say  the  ground 
should  never  be  manured  with  stable  dung.      If  the  ground  is 


ORCHARDS.  491 

very  poor,  let  some  good  mould  from  the  ditches,  or  hill  sides, 
&c.  be  applied.  Manure  is  said  to  spoil  the  flavour  of  the  fruit, 
and  to  cause  it  to  rot  prematurely.  The  land  for  cherries,  pears, 
and  apples,  cannot  be  too  rich,  but  it  is  otherwise  with  the 
peach.  "The  largest  and  finest  peaches  I  have  ever  seen,"  says 
an  experienced  cultivator,  "(the  heath  and  yellow  Canada,)  were 
raised  on  a  soil  that  would  not  have  produced  more  than  ten 
or  twelve  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre." 

Peach  trees  are  usually  inoculated  on  the  peach  stock;  they 
are,  however,  sometimes  propagated  on  the  plum  or  almond 
stock.  They  may  be  planted  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  apart. 
The  ground  should  not  be  stirred  about  them  when  the  fruit  is 
on;  but  according  to  some,  the  cultivation  of  the  ground  is 
highly  useful  at  other  times. 

"In  our  climate,"  says  Kenrick,  "the  peach  is  almost  uni- 
versally cultivated  as  a  standard.  They  are  rarely  pruned  at 
all;  they  are  sometimes,  however,  renovated  by  heading  down; 
this  operation  should  be  performed  just  before  the  sap  rises  in 
the  spring."  Another  writer  says,  "of  all  the  fruit  trees  pro- 
duced in  this  climate,  none  bears  pruning  so  freely  as  the  peach; 
indeed  it  should  be  treated  very  much  as  the  vine  is.  All  those 
branches  which  have  borne  fruit  should  be  cut  out,  if  there  is 
young  wood  enough  to  supply  their  places.  In  proof  of  which, 
he  says,  if  you  take  a  limb  which  has  borne  two  or  three  crops 
of  fruit,  and  observe  its  produce;  then  take  another  of  the  same 
tree,  which  has  never  borne  at  all,  and  the  fruit  on  this  last  will 
be  twice  the  size  of  the  former,  fairer,  and  less  liable  to  rot.  In 
pruning,  the  branches  should  be  taken  or  cut  out  of  the  middle 
of  the  tree,  to  give  more  air  and  sun  to  the  fruit  on  the  outer 
limbs. 

Peaches  are  either  o?ihe  free  stone  or  cling  stone  kind. 

We  give  a  list  of  the  approved  sorts  of  each,  arranged  ac- 
cording to  the  order  of  their  ripening. 

Free  stones. — Grosse  Mignone  (red  rare  ripe),  Belle  Chev- 
reuse,  Double  Montage,  Bellegarde,  Late  Purple,  Morrisania 
Pound,  &c. 

Cling  stones. — Early  Newington,  Congress,  La  Fayette, 
Oldmixon  Clingstone,  Pavie  Admirable,  Heath,  &c. 

Peach  trees  are  destroyed  by  a  worm  which  feeds  on  the 
inner  bark  of  the  tree,  at  its  root.  This  worm  is  said  to  be 
the  offspring  of  a  fly  of  the  wasp  kind,  which  deposits  its  eggs 
in  the  bark  of  the  root  of  the  tree  while  it  is  yet  tender  and 
young.  The  remedy  consists  in  searching  for  the  opening  in 
the  bark  at  the  root,  and  taking  them  out.  If  this  operation  is 
repeated  three  or  four  springs,  the  worm  never  after  can  make 
a  lodgement  there.    The  bark  of  the  tree  by  this  time  becomes 


492  ORCHARDS. 

SO  hard,  that  the  fly  cannot  make  the  puncture  in  order  to  de- 
posit the  egg,  or  if  deposited  it  perishes.  After  the  worm  is 
cut  out  in  the  spring,  draw  the  earth  up  around  the  body  of 
the  tree,  six  or  eight  inches  above  the  other  ground. 

There  are  several  other  ways  prescribed  to  remedy  this  evil. 
Unleached  ashes  applied  around  the  root  of  the  tree  about  the 
beginning  of  June,  being  formed  into  a  small  mound,  will  pro- 
tect the  tree  where  the  bark  is  most  tender.  This  should  be 
levelled  in  October,  to  give  the  bark  an  opportunity  of  hard- 
ening. It  is  suggested  that  the  wash  of  potash,  heretofore  de- 
scribed, might,  by  a  proper  application,  at  a  suitable  time,  after 
the  deposition  of  the  eggs  of  the  insect,  prevent  their  genera- 
tion. 

Mr.  Ellis,  of  New  Jersey,  prevents  the  injury  arising  from 
the  worm  by  the  use  of  rye  straw.  In  the  spring,  w^hen  the 
blossoms  are  out,  clear  away  the  dirt  so  as  to  expose  the  root 
of  the  tree  to  the  depth  of  three  inches;  surround  the  tree  with 
straw  about  three  feet  long,  applied  lengthways,  so  that  it  may 
have  a  covering  one  inch  thick,  which  extends  to  the  bottom 
of  the  hole,  the  butt  ends  of  the  straw  resting  upon  the  ground 
at  the  bottom.  Bind  this  straw  round  the  tree  with  three 
bands,  one  near  the  top,  one  at  the  middle,  and  the  third  at 
the  surface  of  the  earth;  then  fill  up  the  hole  at  the  root  with 
earth,  and  press  it  closely  around  the  straw.  When  the  white 
frost  appears  the  straw  should  be  removed,  and  the  tree  remain 
uncovered  until  the  blossoms  put  out  in  the  spring.  By  this 
process  the  fly  is  prevented  from  depositing  the  egg  within 
three  feet  of  the  root;  and  although  it  may  place  the  egg  above 
that  distance,  the  w'orm  travels  so  slow  that  it  cannot  reach  the 
sround  before  frost,  and  therefore  it  is  killed  before  it  is  able 
to  reach  the  tree. 

When  the  curculio  attacks  the  peach  tree,  let  it  be  treated 
as  before  recommended. 

T\\Q  yellows  \s  a  disease  of  a  more  serious  nature;  for  as 
neither  the  source  nor  the  precise  character  of  the  disease  is 
understood,  it  has  hitherto  baffled  every  endeavour  to  subdue 
it.  The  yellows  is  capable  of  being  communicated  from  one 
tree  to  another,  and  the  consequence  is  certain  death.  A  knife, 
which  has  been  used  in  pruning  a  diseased  tree,  will  commu- 
nicate it  to  a  healthy  one.  It  will,  spread  through  a  whole 
orchard,  like  a  contagion,  as  it  is,  if  the  trees  infected  be  not 
immediately  destroyed.  This,  therefore,  is  the  only  remedy 
yet  known.  As  the  time  of  blooming  in  the  spring  is  supposed 
to  be  the  period  of  taking  the  disease,  all  trees,  when  discover- 
ed to  be  infected,  should  be  previously  removed. 

Peach  trees  are  also  liable  to  be  injured  by  the  bursting  of 


ORCHARDS.  493 

the  bark  from  severe  frost  in  wet  winters,  and  the  splitting  off 
of  the  limbs  at  the  fork  of  the  tree.  The  first  is  to  be  prevent- 
ed by  planting  the  trees  where  the  water  will  readily  run  off; 
and  the  second,  by  proper  pruning  and  attention. 

Apricots  and  Nectarines. — The  cullurc  of  these  trees  is  in 
all  respects  like  that  of  the  peach,  and  will  not,  therefore,  be 
separately  treated  of. 

The  Plum  Tree. — The  plum  tree  delights  in  a  soil  like  that 
of  the  peach — neither  too  dry  nor  too  moist. 

The  varieties  are  propagated  either  by  inoculation  on  plum 
stocks,  or  from  seed.  Those  produced  from  the  seed  are  pre- 
ferred. 

In  favourable  climates  it  should  always  be  cultivated  as  a 
standard,  and  will  then  require  only  a  little  annual  labour  about 
the  roots,  and  the  removal  from  the  head  of  dead  and  dying 
branches. 

Some  plum  trees  are  liable  to  be  attacked  by  a  worm,  which 
occasions  the  formation  of  large  bunches  on  the  limbs.  These 
diseased  limbs  are  to  be  removed  and  burnt,  and  even  the 
whole  tree  if  it  should  be  badly  infected,  to  the  end  that  it 
may  not  communicate  to  others. 

The  best  recommended  sorts  are — the  Prescoe  of  Tours, 
Early  Damson,  Green  Mirabelle,  St.  Catherine,  White  Perdri- 
gon,  Imperatrice,  and  all  the  Gages — Blue,  Violet,  and  Green. 

The  Cherry  Tree. — Cherry  trees  are  propagated  by  bud- 
dino;  and  "rafting,  unless  to  produce  stems  or  new  varieties, 
when  the  seeds  are  sown  in  autumn.  The  soil  required  is 
similar  to  that  for  the  peach.  Cheny  trees  do  not  require 
much  pruning. 

The  sorts  to  be  preferred  are — the  May  Duke,  Early  Black, 
large  Black-Heart,  Frazier's  Tartarian,  the  Elton,  Bleeding 
Heart,  Cerone,  Black  Gean,  Florence,  Amber  Heart,  and  the 
Morello. 

The  Quince. — There  are  several  varieties  of  the  quince, 
called  the  Apple,  the  Pear,  the  Portugal,  &c.  Of  these,  the 
latter  is  considered  the  best. 

The  quince  is  propagated  by  seeds,  layers,  cuttings,  and 
suckers.     But  the  surest  and  most  usual  way,  is  by  cuttings. 

They  require  a  rich  and  moist  soil,  and  a  sheltered  situation. 
When  they  are  once  growing,  little  further  attention  is  requir- 
ed than  to  remove  useless  suckers,  and  dead  or  decayed  wood, 
42 


Ld  College 


APPENDIX. 


B.— Page  41. 

From  the  FanMrs'  Cabinet. 

Tlrmps. — In  the  spring  of  1837,  wishing  to  make  an  experiment  in  the  cul- 
ture olturnips,  I  selected  an  acre  which  had  been  well  ploughed  the  previous 
fall.  The  preceding  crop  was  potatoes,  yielding  about  two  hundred  bushels 
to  the  acre.  In  the  month  of  May  the  ground  was  ploughed  again,  and  well 
harrowed.  Cattle  were  then  turned  in  occasionally  upon  the  ground,  until  the 
15th  of  June,  when  it  was  ploughed  again,  well  harrowed,  and  marked  out  into 
drills  running  north  and  south.  I  then  divided  the  patch  into  four  equal  parts. 
To  one  I  gave  a  common  dressing  of  stable  manure;  another,  an  extra  quan- 
tity of  compost  manure;  in  both  cases  it  was  spread  upon  the  drills,  the  seed 
sown  immediately,  and  the  whole  rolled.  The  next  day  planted  the  remain- 
ing two  sections;  on  one  I  sowed  ten  bushels  of  fine  lime  with  two  and  a  half 
of  wood  ashes.  The  other  remaining  quarter  of  an  acre  received  a  dressing 
of  two  bushels  of  bone  dust.  Those  dressed  with  manure  appeared  about  the 
same  time  above  the  soil,  and,  for  a  season,  seemed  to  take  the  lead  of  their 
neighbours.  They  were  all  kept  equally  clean  of  weeds,  and  the  soil  was  retain- 
ed, as  far  as  possible,  in  a  finely  pulverized  state,  so  as  to  enable  it  to  imbibe  the 
moisture  of  the  atmosphere.  They  all  escaped  the  fly — not  so  the  turnip 
worm,  as  sections  1  and  "2  suffered  by  it;  those  parts  dressed  with  stable  ma- 
nure and  compost  maintained  apparently  their  ascendancy  until  about  the  15th 
of  July,  when  the  others  appeared  to  take  the  lead.  The  soil  was  then  again 
well  pulverized,  and  the  whole  cleared  from  all  extraneous  plants.  As  the 
turnips  required  thinning,  commenced  that  operation  about  the  latter  end  of 
July,  and  must  have  furnished  many  bushels,  at  least  fortj',  to  my  stock.  Un- 
fortunately, I  kept  no  account.  On  the  10th  of  November,  they  were  gathered 
in  with  the  following  result: 

Section  1.  Dressed  with  stable  manure,  yielded  98  bushels,  rate  of  390  per 
acre. 

Section  2.  Dressed  with  compost,  yielded  124  bushels,  rate  of  496  per  acre. 

Section  3.  Dressed  with  lime  and  wood  ashes,  yielded  185  bushels,  rate  of 
740  per  acre. 

Section  4.  Dressed  with  bone  dust,  yielded  213  bushels,  rate  of  852  per  acre. 

The  turnips  were  not  sent  to  market,  but  fed  to  stock,  and  excellent  feed 
they  proved  to  be,  and  added  not  a  little  to  my  manure.  The  interest  on  the 
land,  and  the  expenses  of  cultivation,  &c.,  including  the  manures,  amounted 
to  S29  75.  They  were  worth  to  me,  as  fed  to  stock,  at  least  25  cents  per  bushel, 
but  say  20  cents;  this  would  be  S124  for  the  yield  of  the  acre,  which  will  leave 
S94  25  per  acre  as  the  proceeds.  Now  if  we  farmers  can  but  average  the  half 
of  this,  we  shall  be  doing  a  clear  business.  I  did  not  clear  the  fifth  part  of  it 
on  ray  wheat  lands.  I  shall  hereafter  study  a  little  more  variety  and  not  stake 
all  a  year's  labour  on  a  single  staple  crop.  I  have  seen,  yes,  and  1  have  felt 
the  effects.  I  am  determined  to  make  a  part  of  my  farm  as  good  as  I  can  by 
being  '■'kind  to  the  soil."  I  will  see  this  and  the  ensuing  season,  if  I  am  spared, 
what  a  liberal  and  judicious  application  of  manure,  and  keeping  the  soil  well 


496  APPENDIX. 

pulverized,  will  produce.  But  one  word  to  those  who  raise  turnips, — don't 
select  a  cold,  stiff,  claj-ey,  tenacious  soil — it  won't  do.  I  tried  it  and  failed. 
The  experiment  detailed  above  was  made  upon  a  loamy  soil,  somewhat  in- 
clined to  a  gravelly  texture.  Your  friend  and  subscriber, 

Samuel  W.  Sjuth. 

C— Page  59. 

From  Parkes's  Chemical  Catechism. 

Muriate  of  soda  is  the  salt  which  has  been  longest  known.  It  is  our  com- 
mon culinary  salt,  and  is  supposed  to  furnish  the  necessary  supply  of  soda  to 
preserve  the  bile  in  an  alkaline  and  antiseptic  condition. 

This  salt  is  of  great  use  to  the  animal  creation;  horses  are  very  fond  of  it; 
and  cows  give  more  milk  when  supplied  with  it.  Dr.  MircmL  relates,  that  in 
the  back  settlements  of  America,  wherever  this  salt  abounds,  thither  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  forests  assemble  to  regale  themselves;  and  that  some  of  these 
places  are  so  much  frequented,  that  the  ground  istrodden  tomudby  them.  The 
natives  call  these  spots  licks,  or  licking-places.  In  some  parts  of  Africa,  large 
herds  of  cattle  travel  from  great  distances  at  stated  seasons  to  enjoy  the  marine 
plants  which  grow  on  the  coast,  and  are  saturated  with  sea-salt.  The  fatten- 
ing property  of  our  own  salt-marshes  is  well  known  to  graziers  and  farmers. 

The  greatest  improvements  in  agriculture  may  be  expected  from  the  use  of 
sea-salt.  Mr.  le  Gocx,  in  his  history  of  the  cocoa-nut  tree,  tells  us  that  the  in- 
habitants of  those  parts  of  Hindostan  and  China  which  border  on  the  sea-coast 
sprinkle  their  rice-fields  with  sea-water,  and  use  no  other  manure;  and  that 
in  the  interior  of  these  countries  ihey  sprinkle  the  lands  with  salt  before  they 
are  tilled;  and  that  this  practice  has  been  followed  for  ages  with  the  greatest 
advantage. 

D.— Page  71. 

Frovi  the  Penny  Cyclopadia. 

Draixin'g. — As  a  certain  quantity  of  moisture  is  essential  to  vegetation,  so 
an  excess  of  it  is  highly  detrimental.  In  the  removal  of  this  excess  consists 
the  art  of  draining. 

Water  may  render  land  unproductive  by  covering  it  entirely  or  partially, 
forming  lakes  or  bogs;  or  there  may  be  an  excess  of  moisture  diffused  through 
the  soil  and  stagnating  in  it,  by  which  the  fibres  of  the  roots  of  all  plants  which 
are  not  aquatic  are  inj'ured,  if  not  destroyed. 

From  these  different  causes  of  infertility  arise  three  different  branches  of  the 
art  of  draining,  which  require  to  be  separately  noticed. 

1.  To  drain  land  which  is  flooded  or  rendered  marshy  bv  water  coming  over 
it  from  a  higher  level,  and  having  no  adequate  outlet  below. 

2.  To  drain  land  where  sp-  ings  rise  to  the  surface,  and  where  there  are  no 
natural  channels  for  the  water  to  run  off. 

3.  To  drain  land  which  is  wet  from  its  impervious  nature,  and  where  the 
evaporation  is  not  sufficient  to  carry  oft^  all  the  water  supplied  by  snow  and 
rain. 

The  first  branch  includes  all  those  extensive  operations  where  large  tracts 
of  land  are  reclaimed  by  means  of  embankments,  canals,  sluices,  and  mills  to 
raise  the  Mater;  or  where  deep  cuts  or  tunnels  are  made  through  hills  which 
formed  a  natural  dam  or  barrier  to  the  water.  Such  works  are  generally  un- 
dertaken by  associations  under  the  sanction  of  the  government,  or  by  the  go- 
vernment itself;  few  individuals  being  possessed  of  sufficient  capital,  or  having 
the  power  to  oblige  all  whose  interests  are  affected  bv  the  draining  of  the  land 
to  give  their  consent  and  afford  assistance.  In  the  British  dominions  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  sanction  of  the  legislature  to  any  undertaking 
which  appears  likely  to  be  of  public  benefit.  In  every  session  of  parliament, 
acts  are  passed  giving  certain  powers  and  privileges  to  companies  or  indivi- 
duals, in  order  to  enable  them  to  put  into  execution  extensive  plans  of  drain- 


APPENDIX.  497 

ing.  That  extensive  draining  in  the  counties  of  Northampton,  Huntingdon, 
Cambridge,  Lincoln,  Norfolk,  and  Suffolk,  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Bedford  Level,  was  confided  to  the  management  of  a  chartered  corporation, 
with  considerable  powers,  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  by  this  means  an  immense  extent  of  land  has  been  rendered  highly  pro- 
ductive, which  before  was  nothing  but  one  continued  marsh  or  fen. 

In  the  valleys  of  the  Jura,  in  the  canton  of  Neufchatel  in  Switzerland,  which 
are  noted  for  their  industry  and  prosperity,  and  where  the  manufacture  of 
watches  is  so  extensive  as  to  supply  a  great  part  of  Europe  with  this  useful 
article,  extensive  lakes  and  marshes  have  been  completely  laid  dry,  by  making 
a  tunnel  through  the  solid  rock,  and  forming  an  outlet  for  the  waters.  All  these 
operations  require  the  science  and  experience  of  civil  engineers,  and  cannot  be 
undertaken  without  great  means.  The  greater  part  of  the  lowlands  in  the 
Netherlands,  especially  in  the  province  of  Holland,  have  been  reclaimed  from 
the  sea,  or  the  rivers  which  flowed  over  them,  by  embanking  and  draining,  and 
are  only  kept  from  floods  by  a  constant  attention  to  the  works  originally  erected. 

Where  the  land  is  below  the  level  of  the  sea  at  high  water,  and  without  the 
smallest  eminence,  it  requires  a  constant  removal  of  the  water  which  perco- 
lates through  the  banks  or  accumulates  by  rains;  and  this  can  only  be  effected 
by  sluices  and  mills,  as  is  the  case  in  thefens  in  England.  The  water  is  col- 
lected in  numerous  ditches  and  canals,  and  led  to  the  points  where  it  can  most 
conveniently  be  discharged  over  the  banks.  The  mills  commonly  erected  for 
this  purpose  are  small  windmills,  which  turn  a  kind  of  perpetual  screw  made 
of  wood  several  feet  in  diameter,  on  a  solid  axle.  This  screw  fits  a  semicir- 
cular trough  which  lies  inclined  at  an  angle  of  about  30'^  with  the  horizon. 
The  lower  part  dips  into  the  water  below,  and  by  its  revolution  discharges  the 
water  into  a  reservoir  above.  All  the  friction  of  pumps  and  the  consequent 
wearing  out  of  the  machinery  is  thus  avoided.  If  the  mills  are  properly  con- 
structed, they  require  little  attendance,  and  work  night  and  day  whenever  the 
wind  blows. 

In  hilly  countries  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  waters,  which  run  down  the 
slopes  of  the  hills  collect  in  the  bottoms  where  there  is  no  outlet,  and  where 
the  soil  is  impervious.  In  that  case  it  may  sometimes  be  laid  dry  by  cutting  a 
sufficient  channel  all  round,  to  intercept  the  waters  as  they  flow  down  and  to 
carry  them  over  or  through  the  lowest  part  of  the  surrounding  barrier.  If  there 
are  no  very  abundant  springs  in  the  bottom,  a  few  ditches  and  ponds  will  suf- 
fice to  dry  the  soil  by  evaporation  from  their  surface.  We  shall  see  that  this 
principle  may  be  applied  with  great  advantage  in  many  cases  where  the  water 
could  not  be  drained  out  of  considerable  hollows  if  it  were  allowed  to  run  into 
them. 

When  there  are  different  levels  at  which  the  water  is  pent  up,  the  draining 
should  always  be  begun  at  the  highest;  because  it  may  happen  that  when  this 
is  laid  dry,  the  lower  may  not  have  a  great  excess  of  water.  At  all  events,  if 
the  water  is  to  be  raised  by  mechanical  power,  there  is  a  saving  in  raising  it 
from  the  highest  level,  instead  of  letting  it  run  down  to  a  lower  from  which  it 
has  to  be  raised  so  much  higher. 

In  draining  a  great  extent  of  land  it  is  often  necessary  to  widen  and  deepen 
rivers  and  alter  their  course;  and  not  unfrequently  the  water  cannot  be  let  ofi' 
without  being  carried  by  means  of  tunnels  under  the  bed  of  some  river,  the 
level  of  which  is  above  that  of  the  land.  In  more  confined  operations  cast-iron 
pipes  are  often  a  cheap  and  easy  means  of  effecting  this.  They  may  be  bent 
in  a  curve  so  as  not  to  impede  the  course  of  the  river  or  the  navigation  of  a 
canal. 

The  draining  of  land  which  is  rendered  wet  by  springs  arising  from  under 
the  soil  is  a  branch  of  more  general  application.  The  principles  on  which  the 
operations  are  carried  on  apply  as  M'ell  to  a  small  field  as  to  the  greatest  extent 
of  land.  The  object  is  to  find  the  readiest  channels  by  which  the  superfluous 
water  may  be  carried  off;  and  for  this  purpose  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
strata  through  which  the  springs  rise  is  indispensable.  It  would  be  useless 
labour  merely  to  let  the  water  run  into  drains  after  it  has  sprung  through  the 
soil  and  appears  at  the  surface,  as  ignorant  men  frequently  attempt  to  do,  and 
thus  carry  it  off  after  it  has  already  soaked  the  soil.    But  the  origin  of  the 

42* 


498 


APPENDIX. 


springs  must,  if  possible,  be  detected;  and  one  single  drain  or  ditch  judiciously 
disposed  may  lay  a  great  extent  of  land  dry  if  it  cuts  off  the  springs  before  they 
run  into  the  soil.  Abundant  springs  which  flow  continually  generally  proceed 
from  the  outbreaking  of  some  porous  stratum  in  which  the  waters  were  con- 
fined, or  through  natural  crevices  in  rocks  or  impervious  earth.  A  knowledge 
of  the  geology  of  the  country  will  greatly  assist  in  tracing  this,  and  the  springs 
may  be  cut  off  with  greater  certainty.  But  it  is  not  these  main  springs  which 
give  the  greatest  trouble  to  an  experienced  drainer;  it  is  the  various  land 
springs  which  are  sometimes  branches  of  tTie  former,  and  often  original  and 
independent  springs  arising  from  sudden  variations  in  the  nature  of  the  soil 
and  subsoil.  The'annexed  diagram  representing  a  section  of  an  uneven  sur- 
face of  land  will  explain  the  nature  of  the  strata  which  produce  springs. 


Suppose  A  A  a  porous  substance  through  which  the  water  filtrates  readil}''; 
B  B  a  stratum  of  loam  or  clay  impervious  to  water.  The  water  M'hich  comes 
through  A  A  will  run  along"  the  surface  of  B  B  towards  S  S,  where  it  will 
spring  to  the  surtace  and  form  a  lake  or  bog  between  S  and  S.  Suppose  another 
gravelly  or  pervious  stratum  under  the  last,  as  C  C  C  bending  as  here  repre- 
sented, and  filled  with  water  running  into  it  from  a  higher  level;  it  is  evident 
that  this  stratum  will  be  saturated  with  water  up  to  the  dotted  line  E  F  F,  which 
is  the  level  of  the  point  in  the  lower  rock,  or  impervious  stratum  D  D,  where 
the  water  can  run  over  it.  If  the  stratum  B  B  has  any  crevices  in  it  below  the 
dotted  line,  the  water  will  rise  through  these  to  the  surface  and  form  springs 
rising  from  the  bottom  of  the  lake  or  bog:  and  if  B  B  were  bored  through  and- 
a  pipe  inserted  rising  up  to  the  dotted  line,  as  c  o,  the  water  would  rise,  and 
stand  at  o.  If  there  were  no  springs  at  S  S  the  space  below  the  dotted  line 
might  still  be  filled  with  water  rising  from  the  stratum  C  C  C.  But  if  the 
boring  took  place  at  G  the  water  would  not  rise,  but  on  the  contrary,  if  there 
were  any  on  the  surface,  it  would  be  carried  down  to  the  porous  stratum  E  C  C, 
and  run  off.  Thus  in  one  situation  boring  will  bring  water,  and  in  another  it 
will  take  it  ofiT.  This  principle  being  well  understood  will  greatly  facilitate 
all  draining  of  springs.  Wherever  water  springs  there  must  be  a  pervious 
and  an  impervious  stratum  to  cause  it,  and  the  water  either  runs  over  the  im- 
pervious surface  or  rises  through  the  crevices  in  it.  When  the  line  of  the 
springs  is  found,  as  at  S  S,  the  obvious  remedy  is  to  cut  a  channel  with  a  suffi- 
cient declivity  to  take  off  the  water  in  a  direction  across  this  line,  and  sunk 
through  the  porous  soil  at  the  surface  into  the  lower  impervious  earth.  The 
place  for  this  channel  is  where  the  porous  soil  is  the  shallowest  above  the 
breaking  out,  so  as  to  require  the  least  depth  of  drain;  but  the  solid  stratum 
must  be  reached,  or  the  draining  will  be  imperfect.  It  is  by  attending  to  all 
these  circumstances  that  Elkington  acquired  his  celebrity  in  draining,  and 
that  he  has  been  considered  as  the  father  of  the  system.  It  is  however  of  much 
earlier  invention,  and  is  too  obvious  not  to  have  struck  any  one  who  seriously 
considered  the  subject.  In  the  practical  application  of  the  principle,  great  in- 
genuity and  skill  may  be  displayed,  and  the  desired  effect  may  be  produced 
more  or  less  completely,  and  at  a  greater  or  less  expense.  The  advice  of  a 
scientific  and  practical  drainer  is  always  well  worth  the  cost  at  which  it  may 
be  obtained. 

When  there  is  a  great  variation  in  the  soil,  and  it  is  difficult  to  find  any  main 
line  of  springs,  it  is  best  to  proceed  experimentally  by  making  pits  a  few  feet 
deep,  or  by  boring  in  various  parts  where  water  appears,  observing  the  level 
at  which  the  water  stands  in  these  pits  or  bores,  as  well  as  the  nature  of  the 
soil  taken  out.  Thus  it  will  generally  be  easy  to  ascertain  whence  the  water 
arises,  and  how  it  may  be  let  off.  When  there  is  a  mound  of  light  50il  over  a 
more  impervious  stratum,  the  springs  will  break  out  all  round  the  edge  of  the 


APPENDIX.  499 

mound;  a  drain  laid  round  the  base  will  take  off  all  the  water  which  arises 
from  this  cause,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  land  will  be  effectually  laid  dry.  So 
likewise  where  there  is  a  hollow  or  depression  of  which  the  bottom  is  clay  with 
sand  in  the  upper  part,  a  drain  laid  along  the  edge  of  the  hollow  and  carried 
round  it,  will  prevent  the  water  running  down  into  it,  and  forming  a  marsh 
at  the  bottom. 

When  the  drains  cannot  be  carried  to  a  sufficient  depth  to  take  the  water 
out  of  the  porous  stratum  saturated  with  it,  it  is  often  useful  to  bore  numerous 
holes  with  an  auger  in  the  bottom  of  the  drain  through  the  stiffer  soil,  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  principle  explained  in  the  diagram,  the  water  will  either  rise 
through  these  bores  into  the  drains  and  be  carried  otf,  and  the  natural  springs 
will  be  dried  up,  or  it  will  sink  down  through  them  as  at  G,  in  the  section,  if 
it  lies  above.  This  method  is  often  advantageous  in  the  draining  of  peat 
mosses,  which  generally  lie  on  clay  or  stiff  loam,  with  a  layer  of  gravel  be- 
tween the  loam  and  the  peat,  the  M'hole  lying  in  a  basin  or  hollow,  and  often 
on  a  declivity.  The  peat,  though  it  retains  water,  is  not  pervious,  and  drains 
may  be  cut  into  it  which  will  hold  water.  When  the  drains  are  four  or  live 
feet  deep  and  the  peat  is  much  deeper,  holes  are  bored  down  to  the  clay  below, 
and  the  water  is  pressed  up  through  these  holes,  by  the  weight  of  the  whole 
body  of  peat,  into  the  drains,  by  which  it  is  carried  off.  The  bottom  of  the 
drains  is  sometimes  choked  with  loose  sand,  which  flows  up  with  the  water, 
and  they  require  to  be  cleared  repeatedly;  but  this  soon  ceases  after  the  first 
rush  is  past,  and  the  water  rises  slowly  and  regularly.  Tlie  surface  of  the  peat 
being  dried,  dressed  with  lime,  and  consolidated  with  earth  and  gravel,  soon 
becomes  productive.  If  the  soil,  whatever  be  its  nature,  can  be  drained  to  a 
certain  depth,  it  is  of  no  consequence  what  water  may  be  lodged  below  it.  It 
is  only  when  it  rises  so  as  to  stagnate  about  tiie  roots  of  plants  that  it  is  hurtful. 
Land  may  be  drained  so  much  as  to  be  deteriorated,  as  experience  has  shown. 

When  a  single  large  and  deep  drain  will  produce  the  desired  effect,  it  is  much 
better  than  when  there  are  several  smaller,  as  large  drains  are  more  easily  kept 
open,  and  last  longer  than  smaller;  but  this  is  only  the  case  in  tapping  main 
springs,  for  if  the  water  is  diffused  through  the  surrounding  soil,  numerous 
small  drains  are  more  effective:  but  as  soon  as  there  is  a  sufficient  body  of 
water  collected,  the  smaller  drains  should  run  into  larger,  and  these  into  main 
drains,  which  should  all,  as  far  as  is  practicable,  unite  in  one  principal  outlet, 
by  which  means  there  will  be  less  chance  of  their  being  choked  up.  When 
the  water  springs  into  a  drain  from  below,  it  is  best  to  fill  up  that  part  of  the 
drain  which  lies  above  the  stones  or  other  materials  which  Ibrm  the  channel 
with  solid  earth,  well  pressed  in,  and  made  impervious  to  within  a  few  inches 
of  the  bottom  of  the  furrows  in  ploughed  land,  or  the  sod  in  pastures;  be- 
cause the  water  running  along  the  surface  is  apt  to  carry  loose  earth  with  it, 
and  choke  the  drains.  When  the  water  comes  in  by  the  side  of  the  drains, 
loose  stones  or  gravel,  or  any  porous  material,  should  be  laid  in  them  to  the 
line  where  the  water  comes  in,  and  a  little  above  it,  over  which  the  earth  may 
be  rammed  in  tight  so  as  to  allow  the  horses  to  walk  over  the  drain  without 
sinking  in. 

It  sometimes  happens,  that  the  water  collected  from  springs  which  caused 
marshes  and  bogs  below,  by  being  carried  in  new  channels,  may  be  usefully 
employed  in  irrigating  the  land  which  it  rendered  barren  beibre;  not  only  re- 
moving the  cause  of  barrenness,  but  adding  positive  fertility.  In  this  case  the 
lower  grounds  must  have  numerous  drains  in  it,  in  order  that  the  water  let  on 
to  irrigate  it  may  not  stagnate  upon  it,  but  run  off  after  it  has  answered  its 
purpose. 

The  third  branch  in  the  art  of  draining  is  the  removal  of  water  from  imper- 
vious soils  which  lie  flat,  or  in  hollows,  where  the  water  from  rain,  snow,  or 
dews,  which  cannot  sink  into  the  soil  on  account  of  its  impervious  nature,  and 
which  cannot  be  carried  off  by  evaporation,  runs  along  the  surface  and  stag- 
nates in  every  depression.  This  is  by  far  the  most  expensive  operation,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  number  of  drains  required  to  lay  the  surface  dry,  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  filling  them  with  porous  substances,  through  which  ihe  surface  water 
can  penetrate.  It  requires  much  skill  and  practice  to  lay  out  the  drains  so  as 
to  produce  the  greatest  effect  at  the  least  expense.    There  is  often  a  layer  of 


500 


APPENDIX. 


lighl  earth  immediately  over  a  substratum  of  cla}',  and  after  continued  rains 
this  soil  becomes  filled  with  water,  like  a  sponge,  and  no  healthy  vegetation 
can  take  place.  In  this  case  numerous  drains  must  be  made  in  the  subsoil,  and 
over  the  draining  tiles  or  bushes,  which  may  be  laid  at  the  bottom  of  the  drains, 
loose  grav'^el  or  broken  stones  must  be  laid  in  to  within  a  foot  of  the  surface,  so 
that  the  plough  shall  not  reach  them.  The  water  will  gradually  sink  into  these 
drains,  and  be  carried  off,  and  the  loose  wet  soil  will  become  firm  and  dry.  In 
no  case  is  the  advantage  of  draining  more  immediately  apparent. 

It  is  very  seldom  that  a  field  is  absolutely  level;  the  first  thing  therefore  to 
be  ascertained  is  the  greatest  inclination  and  its  direction.  For  this  purpose 
there  is  an  instrument  essential  to  a  drainer,  with  which  an  accurately  hori- 
zontal line  can  be  ascertained,  by  means  of  a  plummet  or  a  spirit  level.  A  suf- 
ficient fall  may  thus  be  found  or  artificially  made  in  the  drains  to  carry  olf  the 
water.  The  next  object  is  to  arrange  drains  so  that  each  shall  collect  as  much 
of  the  water  in  the  soil  as  possible.  Large  drains,  except  as  main  drains,  are 
inadmissible,  since  it  is  by  the  surface  that  the  water  is  to  come  in,  and  two 
small  drains  will  collect  more  than  a  larger  and  deeper.  The  depth  should  be 
such  only  that  the  plough  may  not  reach  it,  if  the  land  is  arable,  or  the  feet  of 
cattle  tread  it  in,  if  it  be  in  pasture.  All  the  drains  which  are  to  collect  the 
water  should  lie  as  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  inclination  of  the  surface  as  is 
consistent  with  a  suflicient  fall  in  the  drains  to  make  them  run.  One  foot  is 
sufficient  fall  for  a  drain  300  feet  in  length,  provided  the  drains  be  not  more 
than  20  feet  apart.  The  main  drains,  by  being  laid  obliquely  across  the  fall  of 
the  ground,  will  help  to  take  ofTa  part  of  the  surface  water.  It  is  evident  that 
the  drains  can  seldom  be  in  a  straight  line,  unless  the  ground  be  perfectly  even. 
They  should,  however,  never  have  sudden  turns,  but  be  bent  gradually  where 
the  direction  is  changed.  The  flatter  the  surface  and  the  stifler  the  soil,  the 
greater  number  of  drains  will  be  required.  It  is  a  common  practice  with 
drainers  to  run  a  main  drain  directly  down  the  slope,  however  rapid,  and  to 
carry  smaller  drams  into  this  alternately  on  the  right  and  left,  which  they  call 
herring-bone  fashion.  But  this  can  only  be  approved  of  where  the  ground  is 
nearly  level,  and  where  there  is  very  little  fall  for  the  main  drain.  A  con- 
siderable fall  is  to  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible;  and  every  drain  should  lie 
obliquely  to  the  natural  run  of  the  water.  It  generally  happens  that,  besides 
surface  water,  there  are  also  some -land  .springs  arising  from  a  variation  in  the 
soil;  these  should  be  carefully  ascertained,  and  the  drains  should  be  so  laid  as 
to  cut  them  oflT. 

In  draining  clay  land,  where  there  is  only  a  layer  of  a  few  inches  of  loooser 
soil  over  a  solid  clay  which  the  plough  never  stirs,  the  drains  need  not  be 
deeper  than  two  feet  in  the  solid  clay,  nor  wider  than  they  can  be  made  with- 
out the  sides  falling  in.  The  common  draining  tile,  which  is  a  flat  tile  bent  in 
the  form  of  half  a  cylinder,  and  which  can  be  made  at  a  very  cheap  rate  with 
the  patent  machine,  is  the  best  for  extensive  surface  draining.  In  solid  clay  it 
requires  no  flat  tile  under  it,  it  is  merely  an  arch  to  carry  the  loose  stones  or 
earth  with  which  the  drain  is  filled  up.  Loose  round  stones  or  pebbles  are  the 
best  where  they  can  be  procured;  and  in  default  of  them,  bushes,  heath,  or 
straw,  may  be  laid  immediately  over  the  tiles,  and  the  most  porous  earth  that 
can  be  got  must  be  used  to  fill  the  drains  up:  the  stitT  clay  which  was  dug  out 
must  be  taken  away  or  spread  over  the  surface;  for  if  it  were  put  in  the  drain, 
it  would  defeat  the  object  in  view  by  preventing  the  water  from  running  into 
it  from  above.  In  grass  land,  the  sod  may  be  laid  over  the  drain,  after  it  has 
been  filled  up  so  as  to  form  a  slight  ridge  over  it.  This  will  soon  sink  to  a  level 
with  the  surface,  and  in  the  mean  time  serves  to  catch  the  water  as  it  runs 
down.  To  save  the  expense  of  stone  or  tiles,  drains  are  frequently  made  six 
inches  wide  at  the  bottom,  a  narrow  channel  is  cut  in  the  solid  clay,  two  or 
three  inches  wide  and  six  deep,  leaving  a  shoulder  on  each  side  to  support  a 
sod  which  is  cut  so  as  to  fit  the  drain,  and  rests  on  the  shoulders:  this  sod  keeps 
the  earth  from  filling  the  channel;  and  the  water  readily  finds  its  way  through 
it,  or  between  it  and  the  sides  of  the  drain.  It  is  filled  up  as  described  before: 
such  drains  are  made  at  a  small  expense,  and  will  last  for  many  years. 

Where  the  clay  is  not  suthciently  tenacious,  the  bottom  of  the  drain  is  some- 
times cut  with  a  sharp  angle,  ancl  a  twisted  rope  of  straw  is  thrust  into  it. 


APPENDIX.  501 

This  keeps  the  earth  from  falling  in,  and  the  running  of  the  water  keeps  the 
channel  open;  the  straw  not  being  exposed  to  the  air,  remains  a  long  time  with- 
out decaying.  This  is  a  common  mode  of  draining  in  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  and 
Essex. 

The  best  materials  for  large  main  drains,  where  they  can  be  procured,  are 
flat  stones  which  readily  split,  and  of  which  a  square  or  triangular  channel  is 
formed  in  the  bottom  of  the  drain.  If  the  drain  is  made  merely  as  a  trunk  to 
carry  off  the  water,  it  is  best  to  fill  it  up  with  earth,  well  pressed  in,  over  the 
channel  made  by  the  stones;  but  if  it  serves  for  receiving  the  water  through 
the  sides  or  from  the  top,  fragments  of  stone  should  be  thrown  over  it  to  a  cer- 
tain height,  and  the  earth  put  over  these.  A  very  useful  draining  tile  is  used 
in  Berkshire  and  other  places,  which  requires  no  flat  tile  under  it,  even  in 
loose  soils,  because  it  has  a  flat  foot  to  rest  on,  formed  of  the  two  thick  edges 
of  the  tile,  which,  nearly  meeting  when  the  tile  is  bent  round,  form  the  foot. 
The  section  of  the  tile  is  like  a  horse-shoe.  It  is  well  adapted  for  drains  where 
the  water  springs  upwards,  and  it  is  less  apt  to  slip  out  of  its  place  than  the 
common  tile.  They  are  usually  made  twelve  or  thirteen  inches  in  length,  but 
they  are  more  expensive  than  the  common  tiles. 

Ill  draining  fields  it  is  usual  to  make  the  outlets  of  the  drains  in  the  ditch 
which  bounds  them.  The  fewer  outlets  there  are,  the  less  chance  there  is  of 
their  being  choked;  they  should  fall  into  the  ditch  at  2  ft.  from  the  bottom,  and 
a  wooden  trunk,  or  one  of  stone,  should  be  laid  so  that  the  water  may  be  dis- 
charged without  carrying  the  soil  from  the  side  of  the  ditch.  If  there  is  water 
in  the  ditch,  it  should  be  kept  below  the  mouth  of  the  drain.  The  outlets  of  all 
drains  should  be  repeatedly  examined,  to  keep  them  clear;  for  wherever  water 
remains  in  a  drain,  it  will  .soon  derange  or  choke  it.  The  drains  should  be  so 
arranged  or  turned,  that  the  outlet  shall  meet  the  ditch  at  an  obtuse  angle 
towaids  the  lower  part  where  the  water  runs  to.  A  drain  brought  at  right 
angles  into  a  ditch  must  necessarily  soon  be  choked  by  the  deposition  of  sand 
and  earth  at  its  mouth. 

As  the  draining  of  wet  clay  soils  is  the  only  means  by  which  they  can  be 
rendered  profitable  as  arable  land,  and  the  expense  is  great,  various  instru- 
ments and  ploughs  hav^e  been  contrived  to  diminish  manual  labour  and  expe- 
dite the  work.  Of  these  one  of  the  simplest  is  the  common  mole-plough,  which 
in  very  stitf  clay  makes  a  small  hollow  drain,  from  1  ft.  to  18  in.  below  the  sur- 
face, by  forcing  a  pointed  iron  cylinder  horizontally  through  the  ground.  It 
makesa  cut  through  the  clay,  and  leaves  a  cylindrical  channel,  through  which 
the  water  which  enters  by  the  slit  is  carried  off.  It  requires  great  power  to  draw 
it.  and  can  onlv  be  used  when  the  clay  is  moist.  In  meadows  it  is  extremely 
useful,  and  there  it  need  not  go  more  than  a  foot  under  the  sod.  Five  to  ten 
acres  of  grass  land  may  easily  be  drained  by  it  in  a  day.  It  is  very  apt,  how- 
ever, to  be  filled  in  dry  weather  by  the  soil  falling  in;  and  the  animals  from 
which  it  derives  its  nai'ne  often  do  much  damage  to  it  by  using  it  in  their  sub- 
terraneous workings. 

But  a  draining  plough  has  been  invented,  which,  assisted  by  numerous  la- 
bourers, greatly  accelerates  the  operation  of  forming  drains,  by  cutting  them 
out  in  a  regular  manner,  when  they  are  immediately  finished  with  the  usual 
tools  and  filled  up.  It  has  done  wonders  in  some  of  the  wet  stiff  soils  in  Sussex, 
and  is  much  to  be  recommended  in  all  wet  and  heavy  clays.  In  stony  land  it 
cannot  well  be  used.  The  subsoil  plough,  introduced  to  public  notice  by  Mr. 
Smith,  of  Deanston,  may  be  considered  in  some  measure  as  a  draining  plough, 
for  it  loosens  the  subsoil,  so  that  a  few  main  drains  are  sufficient  to  carry  off 
all  the  superfluous  moisture;  and  it  has  besides  the  effect  of  not  carrying  ofl 
more  than  what  is  superfluous.  By  means  of  judicious  drains  and  the  use  of 
the  subsoil  plough,  the  stiffest  and  wettest  land  may  in  time  become  the  most 
fertile. 

The  tools  used  in  draining  are  few  and  simple.  Spades,  with  tapering  blades 
of  different  sizes,  are  required  to  dig  the  drains  of  the  proper  width,  and  the 
sides  at  a  proper  angle.  Hollow  spades  are  used  in  very  stifi  clay.  When  the 
drain  begins  to  be  very  narrow  near  the  bottom,  scoops  are  used,  of  different 
sizes,  which  are  fixed  to  handles  at  various  angles,  more  conveniently  to  clear 
the  bottom  and  lay  it  smooth  to  the  exact  width  of  the  tiles,  if  these  are  used; 


502  APPENDIX. 

for  the  more  firmly  the  tiles  are  kept  in  their  places  by  the  solid  sides  of  the 
drain,  the  less  likely  they  are  to  be  moved.  (Elkington," Stephens,  Johnstone, 
Donaldson,  Young,  Marshall.)  ' 

Page  395. 

The  Mackat  Hog. — This  breed  was  introduced  into  the  United  States  by 
Capt.  John  Mackay,  of  Boston,  and  those  offered  by  him  have  repeatedly  re- 
ceived premiums  from  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Massachusetts.  This 
variety  has  for  a  long  while  been  most  widely  scattered  and  generally  esteem- 
ed, in  the  north-eastern  portion  of  New  England.  An  extract  of  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  Hon.  Henry  L.  Ellsworth  by  Elias  Phinney,  Esq.,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, is  as  follows: — "To  your  inquir}-  as  to  what  breed  of  hogs  I  prefer,  I 
will  state,  a  cross  of  the  Berkshire  with  the  Mackay,  which  are  my  principal 
breeds.  With  the  history  of  the  Berkshire  pig  you  are  no  doubt  acquainted. 
The  Mackay  pigs  were  imported  into  this  country  from  England  about  fifteen 
years  since,  by  Capt.  Mackay,  of  Boston,  from  whom  they  derive  their  name, 
and  till  within  a  few  years  were  decidedly  the  best  breed  in  New  England, 
and  perhaps  in  America.  But  in  consequence  of  breeding  ^iji-a?id-in,'  as  it  is 
termed,  they  had  greatly  degenerated,  had  become  weak  and  feeble  in  consti- 
tution, small  in  size,  ill  shaped,  and  in  many  instances  deformed.  When  first 
imported,  Capt.  Mackay,  on  his  farm  at  Boston,  not  unfrequently  brought 
them  up  to  600  lbs.  at  the  age  of  eighteen  months.  In  all  the  essential  points, 
they  greatly  exceeded  the  Berkshire,  particularly  in  lightness  of  ofl^al,  greater 
weight  of  the  more  valuable  parts,  firmness  and  delicacy  of  limb,  thinness  of 
skin,  roundness  of  body,  &c.,  but  withal  a  hog  of  feeble  constitution.  With  a 
view  of  restoring  some  of  the  good  qualities  of  this  breed  and  uniting  them 
with  the  healthy  constitution  of  others,  I  tried  various  crosses  without  much 
success.  One  of  those  which  did  pretty  well,  was  with  the  Moco,  so  called, 
which  I  obtained  from  the  Genesee  county,  in  the  state  of  New  York.  But 
decidedly  the  most  fortunate  cross  is  with  the  Berkshire,  which  I  obtained 
from  my  friend  Mr.  Bement,  of  Albany,  about  three  years  since.  The  pro- 
duce of  this  cross  is  a  breed  which  far  exceeds  those  of  any  other,  possessing 
all  the  good  and  useful  qualities  of  the  Macka}',  united  to  the  vigour,  size,  and 
health,  without  the  coarseness  of  the  Berkshire.  The  best  pigs,  however,  that 
I  have  ever  raised,  were  by  putting  a  full-blooded  Berkshire  boar  to  a  sow, 
which  was  a  cross  of  the  "Mackay  with  the  Moco— the  produce  being  half 
Berkshire,  a  quarter  Mackay,  and  a  quarter  Moco. 

Page  399. 

Mr.  Phinney,  in  an  able  letter  published  in  the  New  England  Farmer,  re- 
marks — "On  a  large  farm,  where  much  green  herbage  is  produced,  and  where 
the  value  of  the  manure  is  taken  into  account,  I  consider  the  pigs  killed  at  the 
age  of  fif^teen  or  sixteen  months  as  giving  the  greatest  profit.  When  it  is  in- 
tended to  kill  them  at  this  age,  they  may  be  kept  on  more  ordinary  and  cheaper 
food  for  the  first  ten  or  twelve  months,  or  till  within  four  or  fi"ve  months  of 
the  time  of  killing.  The  manure  they  make  more  than  paj-s  the  extra  expense 
iricurred  in  keeping  them  the  longer  time;  but  spring  pigs  which  are  to  be 
killed  the  ensuing  winter  and  spring  must  be  kept  upon  the  best  of  food  from 
the  time  they  are  taken  from  the  sow  until  they  are  slaughtered." 

Mr.  Phinney,  in  corresponding  with  the  Hon.  H.  L.  Ellsworth,  of  Wash- 
ington, remarks  as  follows: 

"I  have  been  for  a  number  of  years  engaged  in  the  rearing  and  fattening  of 
swine,  and  my  establishment  is  viewed  as  one  of  considerable  magnitude,  when 
compared  with  others  in  this  part  of  the  country,  but  when  compared  with 
those  in  the  western  states,  it  must  be  very  diminutive.  A  late  writer  in  the 
Yankee  Farmer,  which  vou  may  have  noticed,  has  greatly  exaggerated  the 
profits  of  my  piggery.    The  average  price  of  corn  in  this  market  is  SI  per 


APPENDIX.  5Q3 

bushel,  and  potatoes,  33  cents; — al  these  prices  my  sales  of  pork  have  always 
exceeded  the  expense  of  keeping,  and  given  me  a  handsome  profit,  besides  the 
manure  taken  from  my  sties,  which  is  of  great  value  on  my  farm, — usually  not 
less  than  five  hundred  cart  loads  annually. 

"In  some  cases,  my  best  pigs,  upon  four  quarts  of  Indian  meal,  with  an  equal 
quantity  of  potatoes,  apples  or  pumpkins,  well  cooked,  have  been  made  to  gain 
tvjo  pounds  a  day.  At  this  rate,  it  may  be  seen,  there  is  a  profit  in  fattening 
pork  at  the  above  price  of  grain. 

"The  older  class  of  pigs  for  the  first  ten  or  twelve  months,  are  kept  princi- 
pally upon  brewers'  grains,  with  a  small  quantity  of  Indian  or  barley  meal,  or 
rice,  ruta-baga,  sugar-beet,  &c.,  and  in  the  season  of  clover,  peas,  oats,  corn- 
stalks, weeds,  &c..  they  are  cut  green  and  thrown  into  the  pens;  the  next  four 
or  five  months  before  killing,  they  have  as  much  Indian  meal,  barley  meal  or 
rice,  with  an  equal  quantity  of  potatoes,  apples  or  pumpkins  as  they  will  eat, 
the  whole  being  well  cooked  and  salted,  and  given  to  them  about  blood  warm. 
During  the  season  of  fattening,  an  ear  or  two  of  hard  corn  is  every  day  given 
to  each  pig.  This  small  quantity  they  will  digest  well,  and  of  course  thereis  no 
waste.  Shelled  corn  soaked  in  water  made  as  salt  as  the  water  of  the  ocean,  for 
forty-eight  hours,  with  a  quart  of  wood  ashes  added  to  each  bushel,  and  given  to 
them  occasionally  in  small  quantities,  greatly  promotes  their  health  and  growth. 
Their  health  and  appetite  is  also  greatly  promoted  by  throwing  a  handful  of 
charcoal  once  or  twice  a  M-eek  into  each  of  their  pens.  Their  principal  food 
should,  however,  be  cooked  as  thoroughly  and  as  nicely  as  if  intended  for  table 
use.  From  long  practice  and  repeated  experiments,  1  am  convinced  that  two 
dollars  worth  of  material,  well  cooked,  will  make  as  much  pork  as  three  dollars 
worth  of  the  same  material  given  in  a  raw  state. 

"If  intended  for  killing  at  the  age  of  nine  or  ten  months,  they  should  be  full 
fed  all  the  time  and  kept  as  fat  as  possible.  If  on  the  other  hand  they  are  in- 
tended for  killing  at  the  age  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  months,  they  should  not  be 
full  fed,  nor  be  made  very  fat  for  the  first  ten  or  twelve  months. 

"To  satisfy  mj'self  of  the  benefit  of  this  course,  I  took  six  of  my  best  pigs, 
eight  weeks  old,  all  of  the  same  litter,  and  shut  them  in  two  pens,  three  in 
each.  Three  of  these  I  fed  very  high  and  kept  them  as  fat  all  the  time  as  they 
could  be  made.  The  other  three  were  fed  sparingly,  upon  coarse  food,  but  kept 
in  a  healthy,  growing  condition,  till  within  four  or  five  months  of  the  time  of 
killing,  when  they  were  fed  as  high  as  the  others.  They  were  all  slaughtered 
at  the  same  time,  being  then  sixteen  months  old.  At  the  age  of  nine  months, 
the  full  fed  pigs  were  much  the  heaviest,  but  at  the  time  of  killing,  the  pigs  fed 
sparingly,  for  the  first  ten  or  twelve  months  weighed,  upon  an  average,  fifty 
pounds  each  more  than  the  others.  Besides  this  additional  weight  of  pork, 
the  three  "lean  kiue"  added  much  more  than  the  others  to  my  manure  heap. 
These  results  would  seem  very  obvious  to  any  one  who  has  noticed  the  habits 
of  the  animal.  In  consequence  of  short  feeding  they  were  much  more  active 
and  industrioits  in  the  manufacture  of  compost,  and  this  activity  at  the  same 
time  caused  the  muscles  to  enlarge  and  the  frame  to  spread,  while  the  very  fat 
pigs  became  inactive,  and  like  indolent  bipeds,  they  neither  vvorked  for  their 
own  benefit  nor  for  that  of  others. 

"For  the  purpose  of  increasing  my  manure  heap,  my  pens  are  kept  con- 
stantly supplied  with  peat  or  swamp  mud,  about  three  hundred  loads  of  which 
are  annually  thrown  into  my  styes.  This,  with  the  manure  from  my  horse 
stable,  which  is  daily  thrown  in,  and  the  weeds  and  coarse  herbage  which  are 
gathered  from  the  farm,  give  me  about  five  hundred  cart  loads  of  manure  in  a 
year.' 


504 


APPENDIX. 
Page  435. 


The  Grubber. — This  Engraving  should  have  been  inserted  in  page  435, 
but  we  were  not  able  to  procure  it  in  time  from  the  Engraver. 


CATALOGUE 


OF 

FOR  SALE 
BY  ORRIN  ROGERS, 

IXo.  67  Soutli  Second  Street,  Philadelphia. 


THE  PENNY  MAGAZINE. 

Published  under  the  Superintendence  of  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Useful  Knoioledge,  London. 


Vol.  1,  9  Parts 

"  2,  12 

"  3,  12 

"  4,  12 

'^  5,  12 

"  6,  12 

"  7,  12 

'•  8,  12 


for  1832, 
1833, 
1834, 
1835, 
1836, 
1837, 
1838, 
1839, 


Price  $1  12| 

"  1  50 

"  1  50 

"  1  50 

"  1  50 

"  2  00 

"  2  00 
2  00 


Bound,  $1  63 

"  2  00 

«  2  00 

"  2  00 

"  2  00 

«  2  50 

"  2  50 

"  2  50 


•    Any  one  person  buying  a  full  set  from  the  commencement,  will  be  entitled 
to  10  per  cent,  discount  from  the  above  prices. 


THE  PENNY  CYCLOPAEDIA. 

Published  by  the  same  Society. 
Vols.  I.  to  XV.,  full  leather  binding.    Price  $2  per  vol.    Single  parts  12i 
cents— Double  parts  25  cents. 


RICHARDSON'S 

NEW  DICTIONARY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

JUST  COMPLETE. 
In  30  Parts,  at  50  cents  each;  or  bound  in  2  vols,  quarto,  full  sheep,  for  S18, 


THE  FAMILY  COMMENTARY. 

NOW  PUBLISHING  IN  PARTS, 
From  the  works  ofHervey  and  Scott,  and  above  LOG  other  writers. 
To  be  completed  in  about  30  Parts,  containing  Maps  and  Engravings. 
Parts  1  to  17  now  published.    Price  per  Part,  25  cents. 


THE  PICTORIAL  BIBLE, 

PUBLISHED   IN  NUMBERS  AND  PARTS, 
NolO  Complete  in  Twenty-seven  Parts;  also  bound  in  Three  Volumes; 

CONTAINING  SEVERAL  HUNDRED  WOOD  CUTS. 

Price  62i  cents  per  Part. 


THE  PICTORIAL  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

NOW  PUBLISHING  IN  PARTS. 
Parts  1  to  28  received.    Price  G2i  cents  each. 


THE  AMERICAN  REPERTORY  OF  ARTS,  SCIENCES 

AND  MANUFACTURES. 

Embracing  Records  of  American  and  other  Patented  Inventions;  Accounts  of 
Manufactures,  Arts,  &c.  Edited  by  James  J.  Mapes,  Professor  of  Chemistry, 
&.C.  &c.  Published  in  New  York  monthly,  at  $4  per  annum.  No.  1  com- 
mences February,  1840. 


CHAMBERS'  EDINBURGH  JOURNAL. 

Republished  in  Monthly  Parts,  at  $2  25  per  annum. 


THE  LADIES'  COMPANION. 

PUBLISHED  MONTHLY, 

Containing  fine  Engravings,  Plates  of  the  Fashions,  and  Music. 

Price  per  annum,  $3  00. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  MAGAZINE 

AND  DEMOCRATIC  REVIEW. 

Published  in  Washington  monthly,  at  $5  per  annum. 


THE  NEW  YORK  MIRROR. 

Published  weekly,  at  $5  per  annum. 

AUDUBON'S  BIRDS  OF  AMERICA. 

To  he  completed  in  about  100  Numbers. 
This  work  is  published  every  fifteen  days,  and  contains  Five  beautiful 
coloured  specimens  of  American  Birds,  with  letter  press  descriptions.    By 
John  J.  Audubon,  F.  R.  S.,  &c.  &c.    Price  $1  per  number. 


JOHNSON'S  MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL  REVIEW. 

Republished  quarterly,  at  $5  per  annum. 


NEW  YORK  JOURNAL  OF  MEDICINE  &  SURGERY. 

Published  quarterly,  at  $3  per  annum. 


MARYLAND  MEDICAL  AND  SURGICAL  JOURNAL. 

Published  quarterly,  at  $2  50  per  annum. 


PARLEY'S  MAGAZINE. 

Published  in  Monthly  Parts,  at  $1  per  annum;  do.  Gluarterly  ao.  do.;  do.  m 
volumes,  from  1  to  7,  bound  in  muslin,  at  $1  each. 


THE  Y'OUNG  MECHANIC'S  LIBRARY. 

Published  semi-monthly,  at  $1  per  annum. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 

Published  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Useful  Knowledge,  at  15  cents  per  No. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  ENTERTAINING  KNOWLEDGE. 

Published  by  the  same  Society,  in  Parts,  at  50  cents  each. 


THE  GALLERY^  OF  PORTRAITS. 

In  Numbers,  at  62i  cents;  also  bound  in  7  vols. 


The  following  Periodicals  are  also  supplied  to  order. 

THE  NEW  YORK  KNICKERBOCKER,  monthly,  %b  00  per  annum 

THE  LADIES'  BOOK,              -            -            "  3  00  " 

HUNT'S  MERCHANTS'  MAGAZINE,         "  5  00  " 

BLACKWOOD'S  MAGAZINE,  (Reprint,)      "  5  00  " 

BENTLEY'S  MISCELLANY,            "              "  5  oo  " 
The  Series  of  the  Quarterly  Reviews,  including  the  -\ 

LONDON,  EDINBURGH,  WESTMINSTER  and  ^  8  00  " 

FOREIGN, J 

METROPOLITAN  MAGAZINE,         -  -  -  4  00 

THE  CASKET, 3  00  " 

JOURNAL  OF  THE  FRANKLIN  INSTITUTE,  4  00  « 

GENTLEMAN'S  MAGAZINE,             -            -            -  3  00  " 

AMERICAN  FARMER'S  COMPANION,              -  1  00  " 

FARMER'S  CABINET,               -            -            .           -  1  00  " 

LADIES'  GARLAND,             -          •-           .           .  1  oo  « 

LITTELL'S  MUSEUM,             -           -           -           -  6  00  " 


4 
BOOKS  PUBLISHED  BY  ORRIN  ROGERS. 

THE  SACRED  WREATH; 

OR,  CHARACTERS  AND  SCENES  OF  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURES. 
Illustrated  by  Distinguished  Writers  of  Great  Britain  and  America. 

WITH  TWENTV-FOUR  ENGRAVINGS  ON  STEEL. 

Bound  in  Turkish  morocco,  or  fine  calf,  extra  gilt,  1  vol.  18mo.,  $3;  bound 
in  muslin,  $2.   Also,  a  cheap  edition,  without  plates,  bound  in  muslin,  62i  cts. 


THE  LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  PENN, 

WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE  EAELY  HISTORY  OF  PE^^NSrLVA^'IA. 

BY  JOHN  FROST,  ESQ. 

To  which  is  added,  the  New  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  1  vol.  18mo.,  full  bound.    Price  40  cents. 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT 

OF  THE 

FIRST  SETTLEMENT  OF  SALEM,  NEW  JERSEY. 

BY  JOHN  FENWICK,  ESQ. 

With  many  of  the  Important  Events  that  have  occurred  down  to  the  present 
generation,  embracing  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  By  G.  R. 
Johnson,  Esq.     In  1  vol.  18mo.     Price  50  cents. 


MANUFACTURE  OF  IRON. 

Reprinted  from  the  Library  of  Useful  Knowledge. 
In  1  vol.  ISmo.     Price  25  cents. 


THE  SATURDAY  MAGAZINE. 

Reprinted  from  the  English  edition,  with  numerous  Engravings. 
For  1835  and  1836,  in  Parts.    Per  Vol.  SI  50;  or  bound,  S2. 


SPLENDID  COPPERPLATE  ENGRAVING. 
"THE  LAST  SUPPER." 

ENGRAVED  BY  KEARIVEY, 

From  a  Print  by  Raphael  Morgan,  after  Leonardo  Da  Vinci's  celebrated 
Picture,  which  was  painted  on  the  walls  of  the  Refectory  of  the  Dominican 
Convent  of  the  Madon  del  Grazie,  in  JNlilan. 

(K!r  In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  O.  R.  has  a  great  variety  of 
Books  and  Periodicals,  both  English  and  American,  constantly  on 
hand,  which  he  will  dispose  of  at  the  lowest  prices. 


